Republicans and Democrats in both houses of Congress have drafted bills to give the families of the 241 Americans killed in the 1983 Beirut bombing access to $1.68 billion of Iranian funds being held by a Luxembourg-based firm.
A bill was introduced by Reps. Greg Pence, R-Ind., and Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz. on Thursday, a day after Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., and several Democratic and Republican senators introduced companion legislation in the Senate.
The Our Obligation to Recognize American Heroes Act, or OORAH Act, aims to bring Iran to justice for its part in the 1983 Hezbollah bombing, which killed 241 American service members, including 220 Marines. “Oorah” — the Army version is “hooah” — is a Marine battle cry that has been used for decades.
“This legislation will help victims and their families obtain just a small amount of justice,” Greg Pence, the older brother of Vice President Mike Pence, said.
In October 1983, two truck bombs exploded outside buildings in Beirut, Lebanon, that housed Frenchmen and Americans engaged in a peacekeeping mission during the country’s civil war. In addition to the 241 U.S. personnel, the attacks killed 58 French service members and six civilians. A U.S. investigation found the attack was perpetrated by Iranian-backed elements of what eventually become the Hezbollah terrorist organization.
The families of the Beirut bombing victims sued Iran in 2001, seeking judgment pinning the blame on the country’s government. A judge found Iran legally responsible for aiding Hezbollah in 2003 and awarded more than $2.6 billion to be divided among the families. By 2012, the judge had issued $8.8 billion in total judgments against Iran, however, Iran’s limited assets in the U.S. made it difficult for the families to collect. The $1.68 billion of identified Iranian assets being held by Clearstream S.A., a financial institution in Luxembourg, would be available to them should the bill pass.
For Rep. Pence, a former Marine, the attack had special significance. In 1983, he was a first lieutenant ordered to Beirut as part of the peacekeeping mission. His brother, Vice President Mike Pence, recalled what it was like not knowing the fate of his brother during a memorial in 2017. He remembered calling his parents to check on Greg’s status, but they had not heard anything. Neither had Greg’s wife, Denise.
“As families gathered here remember, in those times, we waited,” said the vice president. “It was a different time; we didn’t have emails and text messages and 24-hour news.” It was some two days before the family heard the news: Greg had shipped out with his battalion only days before the bombing.
“I always said I would never forget what happened in Beirut, Lebanon in 1983,” Rep. Pence said in a video statement provided to the Washington Examiner. “Today we are introducing Our Obligation to Recognize American Heroes Act, or the OORAH act, that holds Iran responsible for the murder of for the murder of 220 Marines.”
A congressional staffer said: “Currently, when funds are identified as terrorist [funds] they are frozen. Our bill aims to release these frozen funds to the family of the victims of the attacks.”
The legislation’s introduction comes as tensions between the U.S. and Iran continue to rise. The Pentagon has positioned a number of assets in the Persian Gulf over the last two weeks in response to intelligence reports of Iranian threats, including the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group, a contingent of B-52 bombers, and a Patriot missile defense battery. U.S. troops were put on high alert on Tuesday, followed by the State Department ordering all nonessential personnel out of Iraq on Wednesday.
