Lawmakers will vote this week on strengthening sanctions against the Iran-backed militia Hezbollah and punishing Iran for its ballistic missile development, amid pressure from the Trump administration to come to a legislative solution related to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.
The congressional moves are aligned with the Trump administration’s vows to crack down on Iran’s non-nuclear malign activities. But an undefined deadline to fix the deal is also looming. Trump said earlier in October that if officials, lawmakers, and European allies cannot agree on a fix to the deal, he would withdraw from it.
Top House Republicans said in turn that they’d work to address the deal’s flaws, but that they’d be taking imminent action on a range of non-nuclear legislation. This includes a trio of measures related to Hezbollah, the Lebanese militia that reportedlyreceives hundreds of millions from Iran.
“As President Trump said last week, the full range of threats Iran poses to the United States and our allies requires a multifaceted approach. It’s not just the flawed Iran nuclear deal,” House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Ed Royce and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy said said in a Friday statement provided to THE WEEKLY STANDARD. “It is the support for terrorist organizations like Hezbollah and murderous regimes like Assad’s, along with continued ballistic missile advancements that must be addressed.”
One of these measures, the Hezbollah International Financing Prevention Amendments Act, strengthens sanctions that disrupt the terror group’s flow of resources. It targets regimes that provide the group with significant material or financial support, in addition to foreign people that help its fundraising or recruiting efforts. The legislation also requires the president to submit a report on Hezbollah members' or associates' estimated net worth. A Senate version of the bill passedearlier in October.
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05.18.2024