Bills
| 3.23.22

Suppressing Nuclear Plans: Keeping Sanctions On Iran (S. 825)

Do you support or oppose this bill?

What is S. 825?

(Updated April 19, 2018)

This bill would eliminate the ability to waive sanctions on Iran through an executive order. It would also organize sanctions that had been imposed by executive order into law. 

If passed, this bill would remove the power of the executive branch (namely the President) to eliminate sanctions on Iran related to:

  • The transportation of crude oil from Iran
  • The sale, supply, or transfer of certain materials to or from Iran.
  • Financial institutions that work with Iran, Iran’s financial sector, and people that support or conduct transactions with Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps or other people targeted by sanctions.

The President would be directed to put a stop to any accounts maintained in the U.S. that are used for the purchase, sale, or transportation of Iranian petroleum and petroleum products. The importation of refined petroleum products made using Iranian crude oil into the U.S. would be 100 percent prohibited —  if the crude oil was co-mingled with non-Iranian oil.

The bill also requires the imposition of sanctions on violators of this provisions and blocks transactions involving the purchase of U.S. currency or precious metals by the government of Iran. More sanctions would be directed on:

  • People who knowingly engaged in significant financial transactions with Iran's automotive sector, and the related accounts.

  • Any foreign financial institution that has knowingly facilitated a significant financial transaction on behalf of a blocked person or specially designated Iranian national.

Argument in favor

The sanctions on Iran are one of the few things that Congress and the American public are relatively united on. Making them into law and preventing the President from removing them is best for the country's safety.

Argument opposed

The President needs flexibility in negotiating overseas treaties — especially when they involve nuclear proliferation. This bill would make a nuclear agreement with Iran depend on a potentially dysfunctional new Congress.

Impact

People and businesses that do business with Iran (especially around oil and cars); federal contractors in the automotive industry that have a presence in other countries; the Treasury Department; the President.

Cost of S. 825

A CBO cost estimate is unavailable.

Additional Info

In Depth: Sponsoring Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) explained in a press release that current attempts at diplomacy are failing to end Iran's attempt to acquire nuclear weapons, making sanctions necessary:

"The recent extension of negotiations over Iran's nuclear program and further relaxation of economic sanctions is confirmation that the Obama Administration's policy of tempting Tehran to curb its nuclear ambitions through preemptive concessions is indeed a historic mistake. The Iranians still have not taken any serious steps to rein in their nuclear program. The 19,000 centrifuges are still spinning. Not one pound of enriched uranium has left Iran. Research and development of ICBMs continues unchecked.  And, Iran continues to operate the world's most extensive and sophisticated state-sponsored terrorist network."

However, some have argued that the Iran Nuclear Deal has been a success. President Obama, who helped create the deal, argued in a speech that the agreement is the best option:

"The agreement now reached between the international community and the Islamic Republic of Iran builds on this tradition of strong, principled diplomacy.  After two years of negotiations, we have achieved a detailed arrangement that permanently prohibits Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.  It cuts off all of Iran’s pathways to a bomb. It contains the most comprehensive inspection and verification regime ever negotiated to monitor a nuclear program."

Of Note: Since the 1979 Iranian Revolution, which led to the detention of American hostages for 444 days, the U.S. has had some form of sanctions in place on the Iranian government. The sanctions that S. 2672 reference were born out of Iran’s nuclear program, and how it doesn't comply with UN requirements. Iran has the most developed ballistic missile program in the Middle East, which makes the possibility of their developing a nuclear weapon very real.

Iran and the U.S. have been engaged in negotiations about making the nuclear program more transparent in order to demonstrate that the program is for civilian purposes only. This bill was introduced in the summer of 2014 with a deadline fast approaching that would trigger a re-introduction of sanctions. Lawmakers have concerns that President Obama will agree to a deal without Congress' approval.

The Senate passed legislation sanctioning Iran by a vote of 99-0, and the House voted 400-24 in favor as well. 94 percent of the American public views the potential development of nuclear weapons by Iran as a “critical” or “important” concern. The White House, however, believes that further sanctions on Iran would be counterproductive and that Iran should be given more time to comply with the international community’s demands.


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(Photo Credit: Flickr user osipovva)