Lawmakers introduce bill to permanently authorize law allowing sanctions on Iran

THE HILL

BY BRAD DRESS – 05/01/23 6:00 AM ET

A bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced legislation in the House and Senate on Monday to permanently authorize a law allowing the president to implement punishing sanctions on Iran’s economy.

The Solidifying Iran Sanction Act, sponsored by Rep. Michelle Steel (R-Calif.) and co-sponsored by Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, is intended to permanently extend the Iran Sanctions Act (ISA) of 1996, which is set to expire in 2026.

The ISA, which must be continuously renewed by Congress under a mandatory sunset provision, allows the U.S. executive branch to impose sanctions on Iran’s energy sector to cripple its attempts to procure a nuclear weapon, an effort Tehran has accelerated toward in recent years.

“The Iran Sanctions Act is one of the most important tools in U.S. law to compel Iran to abandon its dangerous and destabilizing behavior,” McCaul said in a statement.

“This bill takes the long overdue step of striking the arbitrary sunset from the law, so that sanctions will only be lifted if Iran stops its threatening behavior. Iran can’t run out the clock on U.S. law,” he added.

The bill is co-sponsored by a bipartisan group of 24 lawmakers, including Rep. Susie Lee (D-Nev.).

Steel said Iran has “made clear it has no interest in participating in the international community or working towards peace.”

“The rogue state continues to make threats against democracy and actively sponsors terrorism around the world,” the lawmaker said in a statement. “Through this bipartisan, bicameral legislation, we can prevent Iran from possessing nuclear weapons and further jeopardizing global peace.”