WASHINGTON — Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich contends that the Obama administration has failed to undermine the Iranian regime, saying Tehran has been "waging war against us since 1979."
The Georgia Republican presidential candidate said on CNN's "State of the Union" today that he thinks President Barack Obama should have done more to reach out to ordinary Iranians when they protested against the regime. He was questioned about Iran in the wake of allegations that elements of the government supported an alleged plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to the United States.
"I think our goal should be the replacement of the Iranian dictatorship with a maximum amount of effort to arouse students, to arouse young people, to arouse ethnic decent, to finance every possible element of opposition, to build a radio and television free Iran and to apply every possible economic sanction, including ultimately if necessary, cutting off gasoline so that the regime collapses."
Gingrich, who is struggling to get traction in the Republican presidential race, says, "At a strategic level, the United States is absolutely clueless about what we should be doing" with regard to Iran.
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