{"id":118521,"date":"2021-02-05T04:57:26","date_gmt":"2021-02-05T09:57:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=118521"},"modified":"2021-02-05T05:12:43","modified_gmt":"2021-02-05T10:12:43","slug":"gop-legislative-push-seeks-to-stop-biden-admin-from-unraveling-iran-sanctions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/gop-legislative-push-seeks-to-stop-biden-admin-from-unraveling-iran-sanctions\/","title":{"rendered":"GOP Legislative Push Seeks to Stop Biden Admin from Unraveling Iran Sanctions"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fgop-legislative-push-seeks-to-stop-biden-admin-from-unraveling-iran-sanctions%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=118521&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/GettyImages-1181344604-1_736x514.jpg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" \/><\/div>\n<p>A legislative push by congressional Republicans seeks to tie the Biden administration\u2019s hands as it pursues diplomacy with Iran and would codify in law a range of tough economic sanctions on Tehran\u2019s global terrorism enterprise.<\/p>\n<p>The three new bills put forward by the Republican Study Committee, the largest conservative caucus in Congress, would make it difficult for the Biden administration to unilaterally lift sanctions on Iran as part of any effort to entice Tehran back to the negotiating table over its growing nuclear program, according to a copy of the legislative package obtained by the <em>Washington Free Beacon<\/em>. The bills represent the opening salvo in the GOP\u2019s efforts to stop Biden from rejoining the nuclear deal and providing Tehran with potentially billions in cash windfalls. The Biden administration says it will only rejoin the agreement if Tehran agrees to scale back its nuclear work.<\/p>\n<div class=\"posts-content__category-widget md:hidden -ml-4 -mr-4 my-8 px-4 py-6 bg-gray-100\">\n<h4 class=\"mt-0 text-red-600 font-medium font-sans uppercase\">Recent Stories in National Security<\/h4>\n<ul class=\"list-none p-0\">\n<li class><a class=\"text-black block mb-3 pb-3 border-b border-white\" href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/national-security\/university-of-michigan-demands-1200-for-china-documents\/\"><strong>University of Michigan Demands $1,200 for China Documents<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<li class><a class=\"text-black block mb-3 pb-3 border-b border-white\" href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/national-security\/gop-legislative-push-seeks-to-stop-biden-admin-from-unraveling-iran-sanctions\/\"><strong>GOP Legislative Push Seeks to Stop Biden Admin from Unraveling Iran Sanctions<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<li class><a class=\"text-black block mb-3 pb-3 border-b border-white\" href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/national-security\/canadian-olympic-committee-warns-athletes-not-to-criticize-china\/\"><strong>Canadian Olympic Committee Warns Athletes Not to Criticize China<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p>The RSC\u2019s 160 members says they will stand against sanctions relief for Iran until it ends its support for regional terror groups and rolls back its nuclear program, which Secretary of State Antony Blinken recently <a href=\"https:\/\/gulfnews.com\/world\/gulf\/us-blinken-warns-iran-weeks-away-from-nuclear-bomb-1.76888475\">disclosed<\/a> is potentially just &#8220;a matter of weeks&#8221; away from producing an atomic weapon. While the bills are not guaranteed to pass in the Democrat-controlled House, Republicans say they intend to force their Democratic colleagues to publicly vote in favor of sanctions relief for Iran.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Rejoining the failed Iran deal means funding terrorists that will do us harm, period,&#8221; Rep. Jim Banks (R., Ind.), a member of the House Armed Services Committee and the RSC\u2019s chairman, told the <em>Washington&nbsp;<\/em><em>Free Beacon<\/em>. &#8220;It also means lifting President Trump\u2019s sanctions preventing China and Russia from selling arms to Iran. It\u2019s not only a dangerous idea, but also against common sense.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Biden and Blinken &#8220;have promised to go down this path and fast,&#8221; necessitating that Republican leaders stand up for the former administration\u2019s &#8220;successful maximum pressure campaign&#8221; on Iran, Banks said.<\/p>\n<p>The first <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Gonzales-Terrorism-and-Human-Rights-Iran-Bill.pdf\">bill<\/a>, authored by Rep. Tony Gonzales (R., Texas), prohibits the Biden administration from reentering the nuclear deal until it can legally certify that doing so will not provide sanctions relief or cash assets to any Iranian tied to terrorism. It would also block sanctions relief to Iranian officials involved in gross human-rights violations, including Tehran\u2019s violent crackdown on dissidents and other democratic protesters.<\/p>\n<p>The second bill, authored by Rep. Bryan Steil (R., Wis.), would prohibit the United States from granting licenses and waivers to any entity or individual currently sanctioned for supporting Iran\u2019s global terrorism enterprise. The Biden administration would only be able to skirt these regulations if it can legally certify to Congress that Iran is no longer supporting terrorism, a nearly impossible declaration given Tehran\u2019s continued support for Hamas, Hezbollah, and terrorist forces in Yemen, among other places.<\/p>\n<p>The bill is meant to send a clear message to the Biden administration that sanctions on Iran cannot be bypassed by executive orders or sanctions waivers, which exempt entities from U.S. sanctions currently in place.<\/p>\n<p>Late last month, the Biden administration issued a general license authorizing transactions with the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, which were designated as a terror group in the Trump administration\u2019s final days. This essentially skirted the former administration\u2019s terror designation and made those sanctions unenforceable. Steil says his bill would prevent the Biden administration from further using these sorts of licenses and exemptions to skirt and nullify Trump-era sanctions.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I am deeply concerned that the Biden administration could abuse humanitarian waivers to provide sanctions relief regardless of the regime\u2019s terrorist activities,&#8221; Steil told the <em>Free Beacon.<\/em> &#8220;Using this loophole, the Biden administration will appear tough on Iran by not formally lifting sanctions, while simultaneously allowing transactions that financially support Iran\u2019s pursuit of terrorism.&#8221; Steil\u2019s bill aims to close these loopholes and would force the administration to provide Congress with guarantees Iran is not supporting terrorism.<\/p>\n<p>The third piece of <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Don-Bacon-Snapback-Codification-Bill.pdf\">legislation<\/a>, authored by Rep. Don Bacon (R., Neb.), would formally codify the Trump administration\u2019s decision to sanction Russian and Chinese arms sales to Iran. The bill would lock these sanctions in place and stop the Biden administration from lifting arms restrictions on Iran as part of a revamped nuclear agreement. A new deal would pave the way for the United Nations and European powers to further roll back a longstanding U.N. arms ban on Iran\u2014which lapsed last year\u2014but if Bacon\u2019s legislation is passed, it would be nearly impossible for the United States to go along with such a scenario.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;One thing we can all agree on is that countries like Russia and China should not be selling weapons to the world\u2019s top exporter of terrorism,&#8221; Bacon told the <em>Free Beacon<\/em>, noting the decades of &#8220;strong bipartisan consensus on the need to restrict the transfer of conventional arms to and from Iran.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The legislative proposals were accompanied by a <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/2.3.21.-Murphy-Iran-Letter-_FINAL-Version.pdf\">letter<\/a> signed by 50 GOP House members warning the Biden administration against lifting sanctions on Iran.<\/p>\n<div class=\"my-8 hide-print\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1526555381173-4\" class=\"mobile-250 desktop-90\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A legislative push by congressional Republicans seeks to tie the Biden administration\u2019s hands as it pursues diplomacy with Iran and would codify in law a range of tough economic sanctions &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1892695,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[4496,3620,5409,3688,3814,5410],"class_list":["post-118521","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-admin","tag-biden","tag-legislative","tag-push","tag-seeks","tag-stop"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118521","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=118521"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118521\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1892695"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=118521"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=118521"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=118521"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}