I spent 16 years in government.

In the Florida State Senate, we became the first state in America to stand up to Iran’s brutal regime by cutting off state investments in companies helping Iran develop nuclear weapons.

How did we get everyone onboard? Because Iranian-made IEDs were killing our brave soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Democrats and Republicans spoke with one voice when the legislation passed unanimously. In Congress, it was the same. We passed sanctions – together – to pressure Iran to abandon its nuclear weapons program.

We overwhelmingly condemned the regime’s repression of women, its persecution of the Baha’i and other minorities, its repeated violation of the human rights of its citizens, and its support for terrorism around the world. Again and again, Republicans and Democrats stood side by side calling out the regime, its terrorist Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps, and the proxy terror groups it funded at the expense of its own people.

Together, we remembered the victims, from our Marine barracks in Beirut to our personnel in Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia; from Buenos Aires to Burgas, and the hundreds of brave American soldiers killed by Iran-backed militias and weaponry.

So many Americans killed.

So many innocent civilians murdered.

All by this radically dangerous regime. We held hearings about these threats over and over again. But it was never just about the extent of the horrors spread by Iran. It was also personal.

I represented Bob Levinson, the longest-held American hostage in history. I came to know his family as they fought tirelessly to bring Bob home from Iran, inspiring everyone who met them. Administrations of both parties tried. None succeeded. Over 4,700 days.

As their Member of Congress, I desperately wanted to welcome Bob home. But he died in Iranian captivity. Throughout my 16 years in office, there were always colleagues on my right and my left who stood together to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons because we understood what this regime was capable of.

Kidnapping. Murder. Terror. Today we live in a time of intense partisanship. That’s the environment in which this war is happening. But any time an American president makes the sobering decision to use force, it is appropriate and necessary for Congress to exercise its oversight.

I certainly did so during Republican and Democratic administrations. Even as this debate plays out, we all need to acknowledge the history of this dangerous Iranian regime and its threat to the world. The Supreme Leader and his forces have brought suffering to their own people, chaos to the region, and violence to the world. The blood of American soldiers and innocent civilians from across the globe is on their hands.

The blood of the tens of thousands protesters they recently slaughtered is not even dry. So let’s pause for a moment to stand together – To acknowledge that the world is safer without the Ayatollah’s terror.

To stand with the Iranian people in their pursuit of freedom. To support the brave Americans serving in harm’s way. For all of our political disagreements, we all share a stake in the success of this moment and this war.

That’s what I’m hoping and praying for.

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)