Rick Santorum, speaking to AIPAC delegates in D.C. this morning, said that as president he would issue an ultimatum to the Iranian government: either they halt production at their nuclear facilities and allow outside inspectors to verify that the facilities are being destroyed, or the United States would do it for them.

“If Iran doesn’t get rid of nuclear facilities, we will tear down them ourselves,” he said.

He said that Iran’s leaders are “essentially irrational actors,” and that the Obama administration has “sat on the sidelines and [done] nothing.”

Santorum was the only GOP hopeful to appear in person at AIPAC today; both Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich appeared and took questions via satellite.

The former Pennsylvania senator also rejected the notion that military action against Iran is a case of “warmongering.”

“This is not bellicosity and warmongering, this is preventing the most radical regime in the world from having a weapon that could fundamentally change the security posturing not just of the Middle East.”

He added that a nuclear Iran “is a nightmare for all freedom-loving people in the world.”

(Source: Politico)