Republicans and Democrats in the House are pushing for expedited authority to sanction Iran for reasons related to terrorism, human rights abuses or ballistic missile testing, just days after the Obama administration delayed sanctioning Iran over a new ballistic missile test.
That delay has prompted new fears among members of both parties that the Obama administration is looking to avoid sanctioning Iran, over fears that sanctions might prompt Iran to abandon its commitments to scale back its nuclear program.
The new legislation from Rep. Joe Kennedy, D-Mass., would legislate a new U.S. foreign policy aimed at preventing the government from weighing Iran’s opposition to sanctions at all.
Specifically, the bill says it would be U.S. policy to ignore any effort by Iran to argue that new U.S. sanctions are a reason for walking away from the nuclear agreement. It says that argument from Iran “would not be valid and would be inconsistent” with the nuclear agreement.
The bill would also require the government to hold that nothing in the Iran nuclear deal prevents new U.S. sanctions against Iran related to terrorism, human rights abuses or ballistic missile testing.
It goes further by setting up an expedited process for considering new sanctions against Iran. Under the bill, the government would have to notify Congress whenever it determines that Iran is behind a terrorist act, a human rights abuse or new ballistic missile testing.
That notification would trigger a 60-day period in which legislation imposing new sanctions against Iran could be offered, and then given privileged status to allow for quick passage in both the House and Senate.
The bill also makes clear the preference of those sponsoring the bill for new sanctions against Iran.
“The Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control should be fully funded to ensure strict enforcement of sanctions against Iranian actors in the areas of ballistic missile proliferation and terrorism,” it reads.
“Iran should continue to be prohibited from undertaking any activity related to ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, including launches using ballistic missile technology, and United Nations member states should take all necessary measures to prevent the transfer of technology or technical assistance to Iran related to such activities,” it adds.
The bill is cosponsored by Reps. Jim Bridenstine, R-Okla.; John Delaney, D-Md.; Ted Deutch, D-Fla.; Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii; Juan Vargas, D-Calif.; and Joe Wilson, R-S.C.
Read the bill here:
