Whereas, until 1967, Syria controlled the Golan Heights and used the topographical advantage it provided to attack Israeli troops and civilians; Whereas, in June 1967, Syria intensified its attacks against Israel from the Golan Heights, and Israel captured the Golan Heights in a defensive war; Whereas, in October 1973, the Golan Heights provided Israel with critical strategic depth to repel a surprise attack by Syrian forces; Whereas, on September 1, 1975, President Gerald Ford provided a diplomatic assurance to Israel that the U.S. will support the position that an overall settlement with Syria in the framework of a peace agreement must assure Israel’s security from attack from the Golan Heights and that the U.S. has not developed a final position on the borders. Should it do so it will give great weight to Israel's position that any peace agreement with Syria must be predicated on Israel remaining on the Golan Heights ; Whereas, in October 1991, Secretary of State James Baker provided a diplomatic assurance to Israel that the United States continues to stand behind the assurance given by President Ford to Prime Minister Rabin on September 1, 1975 ; Whereas, in 1981, Israel applied its law, jurisdiction, and administration over the Golan Heights and has controlled the Golan Heights for 51 years; Whereas, since 2011, Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad has killed hundreds of thousands of Syrian civilians, including with weapons of mass destruction, and has pursued an ethnic cleansing campaign against Syrian Sunnis; Whereas Iran has used the war in Syria to establish a military presence in the Levant, including thousands of Iranian troops and proxies, and now seeks to create territorial corridors that solidify its control, expand its activities, establish a permanent military presence, and provide arms to its terrorist proxies; Whereas Iran is the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism and the leaders of Iran regularly threaten to wipe out Israel