On Tuesday (November 7th), Jim Risch, the Chief Republican of the U.S. Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, and Marco Rubio, the Republican Senators, introduced the End Iranian Terror Act, which requires the development of a strategy to counter China and ensure that China does not evade US sanctions against Iran.
This bill requires the President to decide to impose sanctions on entities that violate existing US sanctions on Iranian oil products; Assess China's direct or indirect role in smuggling Iranian origin petroleum products; Assess the quantity of Iranian originating petroleum products smuggled into China and the role of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard; Assess the impact of smuggling Iranian oil products on the global energy market.
This law also requires a detailed plan to monitor the waters to prevent the smuggling of Iranian oil products, identify entities involved in smuggling, seize, prosecute, and, where appropriate, dispose of assets used to violate US sanctions.
Since 2021, the Biden administration's Iran policy has been characterized by implementing lenient sanctions, dangerously unfreezing funds, and pursuing a nuclear agreement at all costs. After the brutal attacks launched by Hamas against Israel, the Biden administration must change its course
Since 2021, Iran has earned an astonishing $80 billion in oil revenue, most of which comes from China's purchases of Iranian oil. Iran uses these resources to support its terrorist agents in the Middle East, including Hamas, "Reich said." This legislation now requires the Biden administration to strictly enforce the recorded Iranian oil sanctions and begin taking concrete actions Make the resources of the Iranian regime scarce.
Rubio said, "The United States should not take China's evasion of Iran related sanctions lightly. Doing so will only increase the likelihood of us seeing a recurrence of a terrifying attack similar to October 7th." Rubio said that enacting this legislation will enhance deterrence and further develop strategies for implementing these sanctions.
In addition to promoting the implementation of existing sanctions, Reich also co sponsored the Stop Harbor Iranian Petroleum Act, which will impose new sanctions on illegal purchases of Iranian oil and hold supporters of the regime accountable.
On October 7th, the radical organization Hamas launched a deadly attack in southern Israel, taking over 240 hostages and causing 1400 deaths on the Israeli side. Israel subsequently declared war on Hamas, which ruled the Gaza Strip. Iran has always supported Hamas, describing its actions as a manifestation of resistance, but Iran denies involvement in the Hamas attack on October 7th.
The United States is currently implementing new sanctions on entities and individuals involved in Iran's missile, unmanned aerial vehicle, and conventional weapons industries. The United States will continue to take action to disrupt Iran's proliferation of drones and other weapons to oppressive regimes and destabilizing actors, "said Brian Nelson, Deputy Secretary of the Treasury for Counterterrorism and Financial Intelligence, in a statement last month." We encourage the international community to do the same