Senators Press Biden to Step Up Iran Sanctions Enforcement
A bipartisan group of 18 senators led by Sens. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., sent a letter Jan. 31 to President Joe Biden urging him to boost enforcement of oil sanctions on Iran to curb Tehran’s ability to fund terrorism.
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Amid “pervasive sanctions evasion,” Iran is exporting an average of more than 1.4 million barrels of crude oil per day, mostly to China, and took in at least $88 billion from illicit oil exports from February 2021 to October 2023, the letter says. Tehran has used that windfall to support a wide range of terrorist groups, some of which in recent months attacked Israel and U.S. forces in the Middle East and disrupted commercial shipping in the Red Sea.
“Accordingly, we call on you to immediately take additional action to stop Iran’s illicit oil trade,” the senators wrote. “Specifically, we urge you to sanction ships transporting Iranian petroleum products as well as the foreign ports and refineries that knowingly accept those products.”
The letter also encourages Biden to support Iran-related legislation that is pending in the Senate, including the House-passed Stop Harboring Iranian Petroleum (SHIP) Act, which would impose new sanctions on foreign ports and refineries that process or accept Iranian petroleum (see 2311060014), and the End Iranian Terror (End IT) Act, which would require the creation of a strategy to counter China's evasion of U.S. sanctions on Iran.
In addition to Rubio and Hassan, the letter is signed by Sens. Jim Risch, R-Idaho; Jacky Rosen, D-Nev.; MIke Crapo, R-Idaho; Bob Casey, D-Pa.; Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn.; John Fetterman, D-Pa.; Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va.; Catherine Cortez-Masto, D-Nev.; Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska; Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn.; Rick Scott, R-Fla.; Katie Boyd Britt, R-Ala.; Deb Fischer, R-Neb.; Ted Budd, R-N.C.; John Cornyn, R-Texas; and Pete Ricketts, R-Neb.
A National Security Council spokesperson said the White House has imposed Iran sanctions on many parties and is enforcing those sanctions, such as through oil seizures. "The Biden administration has administered almost 50 separate Iran sanctions roll-outs targeting almost 500 individuals and entities," the spokesperson said. It "will continue to take action to disrupt Iran’s ability to fund terrorist elements in the region."