Frustrated by what they see as President Obama’s inaction toward the threats to U.S. interests posed by Iran, lawmakers are moving on their own to confront them.
Obama has tried to wall off the nuclear talks with Tehran from the many other crises in which Iran plays a role, including its proxy war against Israel, global support for terrorism, the fight against the Islamic State, the overthrow of Yemen’s government, and even Iran’s prosecution of U.S. citizens on questionable charges.
Though White House officials insist they are not ignoring Iran’s threats to U.S. interests, many lawmakers in both parties think the president isn’t doing enough to confront them. The administration has never seriously confronted Iran since Obama took office, leading many observers in the Middle East and at home to conclude that he sees the nuclear deal as part of a broader rapprochement with Tehran’s ruling Shiite Muslim theocracy.
But House lawmakers on Thursday made a move against one of Iran’s most troublesome proxies, passing by a 423-0 vote legislation that would impose new sanctions on the Lebanese Shiite Hezbollah movement, which the United States considers a terrorist group.
The legislation, which is modeled partly on sanctions imposed against Iran, declares that Hezbollah is a “transnational criminal organization” and drug trafficker, and would target financial institutions that conduct transactions on behalf of the group. It also takes aim at satellite and broadband providers that distribute the signal of the group’s propaganda channel, Al Manar, by requiring the State Department to report on steps taken to impede distribution of its content.
“While the administration is engaged in negotiations with Iran, Iran continues to exert its malign influence throughout the Middle East and around the globe. Iran continues to finance and arm terrorist organizations that target our allies — especially Israel — and sow instability throughout the region,” House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy said.
Democrat Ted Deutch of Florida, a co-sponsor of the legislation, said it “will force financial institutions around the world to choose between facilitating Hezbollah’s terror or accessing the American banking system.”
Meanwhile, the Senate on Monday approved by a vote of 90-0 a nonbinding resolution calling on Iran to release imprisoned Americans, including Washington Post Tehran bureau chief Jason Rezaian, who was arrested in July during the nuclear talks, Pastor Saeed Abedini and former Marine Amir Hekmati. The resolution also calls on Tehran to account for the fate of former FBI agent Robert Levinson, who went missing inside Iran in 2007 and whose fate is unknown.
Many GOP lawmakers have wanted to go farther, conditioning approval of any nuclear deal on Tehran freeing its captives and accounting for Levinson, but Democrats are backing Obama’s desire to separate those issues.
However, the fate of the four Americans is likely to overshadow the debate over any deal once it’s signed if they aren’t freed by then.
“Iran has been the number one state sponsor of terrorism for 30 years, annually celebrates ‘Death to America Day,’ and refuses to demonstrate good faith by releasing American prisoners, including Pastor Saeed Abedini, who has been tortured and thrown in jail for his Christian faith,” said Rep. Robert Pittenger, R-N.C., chairman of the Congressional Task Force on Terrorism and Unconventional Warfare.
“Does President Obama think Iran will suddenly change? If President Obama won’t walk away from a bad deal, then Congress must exercise oversight to protect the American people.”
