WASHINGTON — Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says the U.S. should consider even tougher penalties against Iran's government and "be doing everything we can to bring it down."
Rice said on ABC's "This Week" today that the United States never should take the option of military force off the table when it comes to dealing with Iran.
The current Iranian government is trying to obtain a nuclear weapon and has repressed its own people, and "the regime has absolutely no legitimacy left."
Diplomats have told The Associated Press that the U.N. atomic agency plans to disclose intelligence this week suggesting that Iran made computer models of a nuclear warhead.
Iran says its nuclear program is only for peaceful aims such as energy production.
Rice also chastised Republican presidential candidates for not addressing world affairs more extensively.
"Foreign policy ought to be more of the debate than it is," Rice said. "It concerns me that we are not having a discussion about foreign policy, and, obviously, I would suggest that anyone who’s going to run for president of the United States spend some time on the basics of foreign policy."
"Anyone who’s running for president really owes it to the American people to take the time to do that," said.
Rice endorsed President Barack Obama’s approach to handling terrorism.
“Obviously, I think President Obama has done a number of things right, particularly in the war on terror,” she said. “And I think that building on [what] President Bush left in place, President Obama has indeed carried the war on terror far forward in a very effective way."