Congressman Sherman Authors New Provisions to Sanction Iran

Press Release

Today, the House Committee on Foreign Affairs passed two major sanctions bills targeting Iran for greater economic and diplomatic pressure, and strengthening the nonproliferation regime against Iran, North Korea, and Syria. Both bills, sponsored by Chairman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, included major provisions authored by Congressman Brad Sherman (D-CA). The Committee voted to pass the Iran Threat Reduction Act and the Iran, North Korea and Syria Nonproliferation Reform and Modernization Act. Congressman Sherman is the lead Democratic cosponsor of the latter bill.

"I urge the House leadership to swiftly bring this important legislation to the House floor for passage," said Sherman. "We must send a tough message to Tehran: stop your nuclear weapons program, or else face serious economic consequences. We must send a tough message to Iran's remaining business partners: stop doing business with Tehran or you will be forced to stop doing business in the United States. Sanctions have had some impact on Iran's economy -- as Ahmadinejad recently admitted -- but we need to ramp up the pressure much more and fully enforce all Iran sanctions passed by Congress."

Sherman is the Ranking Democratic Member on the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Trade of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the House.

The Iran Threat Reduction Act is a comprehensive bill tightening sanctions against the Iranian government, military, and energy sector.
The bill includes several important portions authored by Congressman Sherman:

* Requiring an expedited campaign at the Treasury Department to sanction the hundreds of front companies and agents that operate on behalf of the Iran Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), and provides for tough sanctions against foreign companies that do business with them.

* Sanctioning the purchase or issuance of Iranian sovereign debt, including government bonds or bonds issued by a state-controlled firm.

* Effectively ending the "Halliburton loophole" by sanctioning parent companies for the activities of a foreign subsidiary that would violate current U.S. sanctions.

* Requiring the State Department to better define and publish the types of goods, services, and technologies that enable Iran to disrupt the flow of information and monitor and crush dissent in its population, and whose transfer to Iran will cause the company in question to be sanctioned by the U.S.

Sherman emphasized the importance of the provisions targeting the Revolutionary Guards.

"The IRGC is the vanguard of Iranian terror abroad and a pillar of repression in Iran. It also controls a huge portion of Iran's economy and supports Iran's weapons programs through front companies and other shadowy relationships." Sherman said. "If you want to hurt Iran's efforts to proliferate and support terrorism, as well as cause general dislocation to the Iranian economy, there is no better target at this point than the IRGC and its affiliates."

The Iran, North Korea and Syria Nonproliferation Reform and Modernization Act improves existing law targeting firms and countries that assist these countries' nuclear and other advanced weapons programs.

"Iran, Syria, and North Korea are proliferators of nuclear weapons technology and work together to threaten U.S. interests and allies around the globe," said Sherman. "This bill would provide the U.S. with tools to strengthen the international nonproliferation regime against these violent, authoritarian states."

The bill includes provisions authored by Congressman Sherman that would provide for sanctions against firms that provide any of the countries with equipment or technology relevant for mining or milling uranium. Iran is facing a uranium shortage, and has been searching for foreign sources of uranium, as well as trying to improve its domestic capability to mine uranium. Under the bill, anyone that assists in either effort would be subject to penalties.

In April, Congressman Sherman introduced the toughest Iran sanctions bill ever, the Stop Iran's Nuclear Weapons Program Act. The provisions authored by Sherman in the bills approved by the House Foreign Affairs Committee today are based on legislation in the Stop Iran's Nuclear Weapons Program Act.

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