Heitkamp Pushes Administration Officials for Strong Iran Missile Sanctions, Nuclear Deal Enforcement

Press Release

During a hearing in the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp urged top Administration officials to guarantee that sanctions are used to punish Iran for its development of ballistic missiles and that the Iran nuclear deal is strictly enforced.

Adam Szubin, the acting U.S. Department of the Treasury official who oversees financial sanctions, and Ambassador Stephen Mull, the State Department lead for Iran nuclear deal implementation, testified at the Banking Committee hearing on sanctions and the Iran nuclear deal. Heitkamp stressed the importance of fully implementing the Iran deal to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, while holding Iran accountable if it violates the agreement -- even incrementally. She also reinforced the importance of maintaining sanctions on Iran that are unrelated to the nuclear deal, such as sanctions she successfully pressed the Administration to impose after Iran tested ballistic missiles or terrorism sanctions that remain in place.

"Tough, smart national security strategies -- such as the nuclear deal to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon and key sanctions on Iran -- are among the best national security tools we have. They help keep our families and communities safe from adversaries like Iran and terrorist groups like ISIL," said Heitkamp. "When I visited the Middle East on an official trip with a group of senators earlier this year to discuss counter-terrorism cooperation and to oversee international implementation of the Iran deal, I heard time and time again from our allies that halting funding is the key to halting terrorism. Sanctions cut off financing that fuels terrorism, isolating and diminishing threats to our country. To keep Iran in check, I've successfully pushed this Administration to use sanctions against its support for terrorism as well as against those helping to finance Iran's missile program, and I'm also working to make sure the Administration sees that Iran doesn't cheat on the nuclear deal."

Heitkamp has successfully pushed the Administration to use sanctions to hold Iran's feet to the fire on its nuclear program and other destabilizing behavior. After Iran tested ballistic missile technology last year, Heitkamp called on the President to take strong action in response to the violations of international law. Two months later the Administration did as Heitkamp requested, imposing stricter sanctions on companies and individuals involved in developing Iran's ballistic missile program.

Sanctions played a key role in bringing Iran to the table for the Iran nuclear deal, which Heitkamp supported, and which national security experts assured her was the best chance to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. Even with the deal in place, Congress continues to hold Iran's feet to the fire by maintaining sanctions on the country's support for terrorism, malign influence in the Middle East, and violations of human rights. Heitkamp joined in a Congressional trip in January to the Middle East and Vienna, where she met with senior International Atomic Energy Agency officials -- the international inspectors who are implementing the Iran nuclear deal -- and allies about fully implementing and enforcing the deal.

Heitkamp also pointed out at the hearing that U.S. counter-terrorism efforts are hamstrung by the Senate's unwillingness to hold a vote and confirm Szubin as Treasury's Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Crimes. At a separate Banking Committee hearing earlier in the week, a bipartisan panel of expert witnesses expressed strong support for Szubin's nomination. After Heitkamp spoke on the floor of the U.S. Senate in January and urged the Banking Committee to confirm Szubin, the Committee finally held a vote in March on his nomination to serve as Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Crimes at Treasury. Heitkamp voted for Szubin, but his nomination -- which has been pending for more than a year -- remains stalled, as the U.S. Senate has yet to hold a vote on his nomination. Heitkamp urged the U.S. Senate to do its job and hold votes on highly qualified nominees like Szubin in a floor speech last month.

In January, Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control -- which Szubin oversees -- sanctioned a company based in the United Arab Emirates that was involved in procuring goods for Iran's ballistic missile program. That work was critical step in pushing back against Iran for its ballistic missile tests, underscoring the importance of confirming Szubin at Treasury.

In recent weeks, this office also issued sanctions against North Korea, Hezbollah, and others. However, it's more difficult for the U.S. to hold these perpetrators accountable when Szubin's nomination remains unconfirmed and he works in an acting capacity.

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