Governor Ridge said, “Iranian leaders have ignored UN sanctions, ignored the conditions of the nuclear agreement, they support Hamas and Hezbollah and they are supporting Assad in the genocide of 300,000 Syrians and displacing millions of refugees. They’re responsible for the instability in Iraq. Everywhere you look, you see the tentacles of Iran.”

Governor Ridge dismissed the ‘moderate’ claims of President Hassan Rouhani, and criticized the opening of trade between Iran’s regime and the West as “putting $100 billion into the central bank of terrorism.”

He said, “This man is not a moderate: executions are up, they still flog women, they still flog minors, they still hang people in the public squares for political opposition, they still imprison people for political opposition. There’s no moderation there.”

Moderate regimes don’t censor the press or monitor the internet. They promote human rights, abide by the rule of law, reject nuclear weapons, and have a peaceful coexistence, according to Governor Ridge.

He generously praised the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) and President-elect Maryam Rajavi for their ten-point plan for a free Iran which focuses on moderate values.