Top Republican lawmakers are praising the Trump administration for levying a crop of sanctions on Iran after the country conducted a ballistic missile test Sunday, hailing the move as the beginning of a tougher posture toward the Islamic Republic.
The Treasury Department on Friday announced sanctions on 25 individuals and businesses linked to Iran’s ballistic missile program as well as some linked to the Quds Force, the overseas arm of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Republicans were quick to cheer the administration’s decision, describing the action as an about-face in Iran policy.
“For too long, a myopic focus on the Iran nuclear deal blinded the United States to Iran’s persistent campaign to destabilize the Middle East,” said Senate Armed Services Committee chairman John McCain. “It is long past time for the United States and the international community to hold Iran accountable.”
Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Bob Corker lauded the effort as a first step in holding Iran to account for illicit activities.
“This announcement makes clear that it is a new day in U.S.-Iran relations and that we will no longer tolerate Iran’s destabilizing behavior,” said Corker. “A coordinated, multi-faceted effort to pushback against a range of illicit Iranian behavior is long overdue.”
House speaker Paul Ryan applauded the sanctions as a sign that the United States will no longer appease Tehran.
“This swift and decisive response proves that our new administration is serious about holding the Iranian regime accountable for its illicit behavior,” Ryan said. “I applaud President Trump for imposing new sanctions to crack down on Tehran’s dangerous ballistic missile program and support for terrorism across the globe.”
National Security adviser Mike Flynn vowed Friday that the Trump administration would not assume past practices of tolerating Iran’s destabilizing activities.
“The Trump administration will no longer tolerate Iran’s provocations that threaten our interests,” he said in a statement. “The days of turning a blind eye to Iran’s hostile and belligerent actions toward the United States and the world community are over.”
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle escalated their calls for additional sanctions on Iran this week after the country’s latest ballistic missile launch. Democratic senators told THE WEEKLY STANDARD they supported additional related sanctions Monday, ahead of a bipartisan letter sent to Trump on Thursday that urged the president to hold Iran accountable for its test-fires and to levy new sanctions.
Members of Congress blasted the Obama administration for hesitating to describe such launches as a violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions and instead characterizing them as “inconsistent with” UNSCR 2231, which calls upon Iran not to engage in such activities.
But the new Republican White House described Iran’s recent ballistic missile launch as a violation and warned Tehran on Wednesday that it is “on notice.”
Obama’s Treasury Department issued sanctions on supporters of Iran’s ballistic missile program last January, around the time that the administration allowed the UNSC to lift sanctions on Bank Sepah, an institution central to financing Iran’s missile program. Experts told TWS in October that those sanctions were ineffective.
