U.S. Lawmakers Plan New Sanctions on Iran
WASHINGTON (Dispatches) -- U.S. Republican senators plan to introduce legislation to impose further sanction on Iran, accusing it of violating UN Security Council resolutions by testing ballistic missiles and acting to "destabilize" the Middle East, a U.S. senator said Sunday.
"I think it is now time for the Congress to take Iran on directly in terms of what they’ve done outside the nuclear program," Senator Lindsey Graham, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, told the Munich Security Conference.
Graham said he and other Republicans would introduce measures to hold Iran accountable for its actions.
Tensions between Tehran and Washington have risen since U.S. President Donald Trump's administration imposed sanctions on individuals and entities linked to the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps following a missile test.
"Iran is a bad actor in the greatest sense of the word when it comes to the region. To Iran, I say, if you want us to treat you differently then stop building missiles, test-firing them in defiance of UN resolution and writing 'Death to Israel' on the missile. That's a mixed message," Graham said.
Contrary to Graham’s allegations, the missile test does not defy the UN resolution – a fact which has been acknowledged even by White House spokesman Sean Spicer and other parties to a nuclear accord with Iran.
Senator Christopher Murphy, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told the same panel there was nothing preventing Congress from imposing sanctions beyond those that were lifted as a result of the 2016 nuclear agreement with Iran.
Murphy, a Democrat, told the panel that he had backed the nuclear deal in the explicit understanding that it would not prevent Congress from taking actions against Iran outside the nuclear issue.
"There's going to be a conversation about what the proportional response is," Murphy said, referring to Iran's missile test. "But I don't necessarily think there's going to be partisan division over whether or not we have the ability as a Congress to speak on issues outside of the nuclear agreement."
Murphy said the United States needed to decide whether it wanted to take a broader role in the regional conflict.
Iranian Foreign Minister Muhammad Java Zarf told the conference earlier on Sunday that Iran did not respond well to sanctions or threats.
The Iranian ballistic missile test that prompted Trump’s Feb. 2 resulted in renewed U.S. sanctions. They were imposed little more than a year after Iran’s landmark nuclear deal with world powers went into effect. During the campaign, Trump called the nuclear accord "one of the dumbest deals ever” and said dismantling it would be a top priority.
International monitors report that Iran has stuck to its commitments and dramatically reduced its nuclear capacity.
"I think it is now time for the Congress to take Iran on directly in terms of what they’ve done outside the nuclear program," Senator Lindsey Graham, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, told the Munich Security Conference.
Graham said he and other Republicans would introduce measures to hold Iran accountable for its actions.
Tensions between Tehran and Washington have risen since U.S. President Donald Trump's administration imposed sanctions on individuals and entities linked to the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps following a missile test.
"Iran is a bad actor in the greatest sense of the word when it comes to the region. To Iran, I say, if you want us to treat you differently then stop building missiles, test-firing them in defiance of UN resolution and writing 'Death to Israel' on the missile. That's a mixed message," Graham said.
Contrary to Graham’s allegations, the missile test does not defy the UN resolution – a fact which has been acknowledged even by White House spokesman Sean Spicer and other parties to a nuclear accord with Iran.
Senator Christopher Murphy, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told the same panel there was nothing preventing Congress from imposing sanctions beyond those that were lifted as a result of the 2016 nuclear agreement with Iran.
Murphy, a Democrat, told the panel that he had backed the nuclear deal in the explicit understanding that it would not prevent Congress from taking actions against Iran outside the nuclear issue.
"There's going to be a conversation about what the proportional response is," Murphy said, referring to Iran's missile test. "But I don't necessarily think there's going to be partisan division over whether or not we have the ability as a Congress to speak on issues outside of the nuclear agreement."
Murphy said the United States needed to decide whether it wanted to take a broader role in the regional conflict.
Iranian Foreign Minister Muhammad Java Zarf told the conference earlier on Sunday that Iran did not respond well to sanctions or threats.
The Iranian ballistic missile test that prompted Trump’s Feb. 2 resulted in renewed U.S. sanctions. They were imposed little more than a year after Iran’s landmark nuclear deal with world powers went into effect. During the campaign, Trump called the nuclear accord "one of the dumbest deals ever” and said dismantling it would be a top priority.
International monitors report that Iran has stuck to its commitments and dramatically reduced its nuclear capacity.