The top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee said Congress needs to impose new sanctions on Iran for its provocative ballistic missile tests, which so far have gone unanswered by the Obama administration.
“I would hope that the administration would seem to lessen its objections to Congress coming out with new sanctions,” Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., said Wednesday during a hearing about implementation of the nuclear pact between six world powers, the United Nations and Tehran.
In the lead-up to Congress approving the agreement, the Obama administration assured lawmakers that they could implement new sanctions unrelated to Iran’s nuclear program, Engel said. Tehran’s test, in which the phrase “Israel must be wiped off the Earth” was written on the missiles, was a “provocation,” he said.
“I think sometimes it’s important for the Congress to speak out on these things,” Engel said. “I think it’s not so terrible to have Congress come up with new sanctions.”
Adam Szubin, the Treasury Department’s sanctions expert, said remaining U.S. sanctions against Iran are stringent, implying that they are enough. “Congress’ sanctions contribution continues to be very potent right now,” he said.
But Committee Chairman Ed Royce, R-Calif., accused the administration of backing away from its pledge to hold Tehran’s feet to the fire on other issues, such as its funding of terrorist groups, bolstering its intercontinental ballistic missile program and human rights violations.
“The administration told us that sanctions on Iran’s terrorism, human rights and ballistic missiles would be fully enforced after the agreement,” Royce said. “Yet, it now says that non-nuclear sanctions would undermine the Iran agreement. The White House’s Iran policy amounts to walking on eggshells.”
Szubin also said Iran never pledged to scale back its missile program under the deal, through which it received some sanctions relief in exchange for ceasing its pursuit of a nuclear weapon.
“I don’t believe Iran has ever hidden its intent to continue developing ballistic missiles, nor has it slowed down doing so no matter what administration took what steps,” Szubin said.
