Senate Foreign Relations Committee ranking member Jim Risch, R-Idaho, and Sen. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., urged European officials this week to increase sanctions on Iran for supporting Russia’s war against Ukraine, Politico reported.
Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, denied claims that President Joe Biden has been too soft on Iran, saying the Biden administration has imposed more sanctions on Iran than its predecessor.
The U.K. on Sept. 10 added three entries to its Russian sanctions regime and seven people and entities to its Iran sanctions list, the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation announced in a pair of notices.
The U.K. added three people and one entity to its Iran sanctions regime Sept. 2, the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation announced. The individuals are Abdolfatah Ahvazian, Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps Commander Hamid Fazeli, and Behnam Shahriyari. IRGC Quds Force Unit 700 was listed for activity meant to "cause the destabilisation of the United Kingdom or any other country," OFSI said.
Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, urged the Biden administration Aug. 27 to increase its enforcement of Iran sanctions to reduce Tehran’s support for terrorist groups. "Instead of allowing the Iranian regime to prosper and withholding weapons from our greatest ally in the Middle East, I’m calling on the Biden-Harris administration to deny" Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' "ability to support and arm terrorists and provide Israel the resources it needs to decimate these terrorists once and for all," Ernst said. The senator made her comment after visiting the site in northern Israel where a rocket attack by Iran-backed Hezbollah killed 12 children last month. A State Department official recently said the administration is "vigorously enforcing" Iran sanctions (see 2408120032).
The Biden administration is pushing to implement the new Iran sanctions authorities that Congress approved four months ago, a National Security Council spokesperson said Aug. 15.
House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas, said Aug. 14 that the Biden administration should move more quickly to implement new Iran sanctions that Congress approved four months ago. “The only way to deter Iran and its proxies is through a clear display of strength and resolve," McCaul said in a statement.
The Biden administration is “reviewing closely” the requirements of new laws authorizing sanctions on Iranian oil and “will ensure the rigorous implementation of their provisions” as they take effect, a State Department official recently told a lawmaker.
An Iran-backed militia’s rocket attack that injured U.S. troops in Iraq this week underscores the need for the Biden administration to increase enforcement of Iran oil sanctions to reduce Tehran’s funding for terrorism, Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., said in a statement Aug. 5.
Senate Banking Committee ranking member Tim Scott, R-S.C., asked the Treasury Department last week to tell him when it plans to provide lawmakers with an overdue report on Iran sanctions.