Just to quickly add to what my friend Mark said, the lifting of the sanctions was linked only to the question of Iran's nuclear program, not to Iran's human rights abuses. Many of us have been saying for years that the nuclear issue should not eclipse the central issue, which is the nature of the regime and its systematic, violent repression of the Iranian people and their aspiration for a different future.
As I said in my testimony, the infusion of cash, which resulted in the lifting of the sanctions, has been diverted to all the wrong places. It explains why people no longer believe the promises they were given by President Rouhani, that with the lifting of the sanctions things would get better. There was a downward spiral, and it will only get worse.
I would like to echo what Mark said about the importance of targeted sanctions, of going after those centres of economic power, the Revolutionary Guards and the religious foundations, that, as I referred to in my testimony, sustain the regime. We need to understand the inextricable relationship between both the theocratic and the kleptocratic aspects of the regime. There is an economic mafia that also controls the security apparatus.
Only by going after those specific targets can we empower the Iranian people.