Senator Santorum Expresses Outrage that Khatami's Visit to the United States Permitted By Administration

Senator Rick Santorum:

U.S. Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA), Chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, today made the following statement regarding former Iranian President Mohammed Khatami’s request for a visa to visit the United States.

“I am outraged to learn that former Iranian President Mohammed Khatami’s request for a visa to visit the United States has been approved by the Bush Administration. Mohammed Khatami is one of the chief propagandists of the Islamic Fascist regime. He was elected as a so-called reformer, but he presided over a dramatic worsening in the material and political conditions of the Iranian people. During his presidency, the suppression of free speech was so great that the organization ‘Reporters Without Frontiers’ branded Iran “the greatest predator of free press in the Middle East.” When Iranian students demonstrated against the regime in 1999, Khatami’s government arrested thousands of people, some of whom remain in prison to this day. READ MORE

“I believe that granting a visa to Khatami so that he can travel around the United States and mislead the American people is a mistake. The U.S. government should insist, at a minimum, that authoritative Americans be given equivalent opportunities to speak to the Iranian people. Iran is frightened of freedom, as we can see from their frantic jamming of our radio and television broadcasts. A simple reciprocal agreement with the government of Iran will allow millions of Iranians to hear a message of freedom and hope – this is the least we should demand to allow Khatami into our nation.”