US Republican Senators Propose Stricter Sanctions on Iran
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A group of US Republican senators on Thursday unveiled legislation that requires the US President Barack Obama administration to impose stricter sanctions on every sector of Iran's economy that supports the country's ballistic missile program.
The bill, introduced by Sen. Kelly Ayotte is a reflection of longstanding exasperation among Republican lawmakers who've complained that President Obama has failed to show proper reaction to Tehran’s missile tests, which they claim is against UN resolutions.
Ayotte and other Republicans said senior US military officials are in favor of tougher sanctions. Both Defense Secretary Ash Carter and Army Gen. Joseph Votel, Obama's choice to be the next US commander for the Middle East, have told the Senate Armed Services Committee in the last week that harder hitting sanctions are necessary.
The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) test-fired two ballistic missiles on March 9, and US officials said the launches were in defiance of the UN resolution, which calls on Tehran not to launch any ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering a nuclear weapon.
But Iran's UN Mission said in a statement that the country "has never sought to acquire nuclear weapons and never will in the future." It said the missile tests "were part of ongoing efforts of its armed forces to strengthen its legitimate defense capabilities ... against security threats."
The US administration in January announced sanctions against Tehran for missile firings in late 2015, but Republicans called those measures tepid and weak, the Associated Press reported.
Ayotte's legislation is supported by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, which suggests the bill could be taken up quickly. Republicans remain frustrated after they were unable to scuttle the international accord to check Iran's nuclear program in exchange for economic sanctions relief.
The legislation requires new sanctions against persons who knowingly aid Iran's missile program and against entities controlled or owned in part by Iran's primary ballistic missile organizations.
The bill also would mandate a broad reach by requiring the president to issue sanctions on entire sectors of Iran's economy found to be directly or indirectly supporting Iran's missile program.
Republican senators Marco Rubio of Florida, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Mark Kirk of Illinois also are backing the bill.
Earlier this week, the US said the launches were provocative and destabilizing, and called for a UN Security Council meeting to discuss the issue.
However, the UNSC in a meeting on Iran’s missile tests agreed that the country’s recent launches are not in breach of UN resolutions.
Tehran maintains that its missile prowess is purely defensive. It has also rejects allegations that the projectiles are capable of carrying nuclear warheads.
On Wednesday, Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani said the country’s ballistic missile serves defensive and deterrent purposes, stressing that the Islamic Republic has never sought to launch aggression against any country.
“We have had no intention of invading any country, particularly our neighbors, with our missiles and we will not do so, and our arms are (designed) solely to defend our nation and country,” Rouhani said on the sidelines of a cabinet session.
The Iranian president further expressed satisfaction that US “hardliners and hawkish” officials, who unjustly took the Iranian missile test to the UN Security Council (UNSC), failed to achieve their objectives.