The Republican Study Committee announced a series of bills on Tuesday intended to enforce U.S. President Donald Trump’s “maximum pressure” campaign on Iran.
Trump signed a presidential memorandum on Feb. 4, bringing back into practice the economic and military pressure campaign on Iran waged during his first term in office. The new administration accused former U.S. President Joe Biden of failing to enforce Trump-imposed sanctions intended to squeeze the Iranian regime’s oil revenues and other coffers, which it uses to fund terror proxies throughout the Middle East.
“For too long, Iran’s regime of terror reigned over the Middle East and targeted American interests with no fear of repercussions from the United States. That ends now,” said Rep. Zach Nunn (R-Iowa), chair of the committee’s National Security Task Force.
“President Trump has made it clear that Iran’s direct assaults on global security and American leadership will no longer go unanswered,” he added. “We must apply maximum pressure on the Iranian regime to defend our interests and protect American lives.”
The list of bills presented by the committee includes Nunn’s Maximum Pressure Act, which contains provisions to sanction the Iranian regime’s supreme leader and require enforcement of existing sanctions on Iran’s oil sales.
The reintroduced Iran Waiver Rescissions Bill, introduced by Rep. Austin Pfluger (R-Texas), chair of the committee, would permanently freeze all Iranian-sanctioned assets and prohibit the use of any type of presidential waiver authority. It passed the House last Congress in a 259-160 vote.
Other bills would sanction the importation of Iranian natural gas to Iraq, fully sanction a number of Iran’s proxies and require whole-of-government strategies to assess and deal with Iranian terror proxy influence on the Middle East and around the world, among other measures.
“The Republican Study Committee isn’t just talking tough here,” Pfluger said at a committee press conference announcing the initiatives.
“We’re delivering a clear message to Tehran. America is back, your terror funding days are numbered, and your regime will face consequences that even the ayatollah can’t pray away,” he said.
The committee is the largest conservative caucus in Congress, with 158 members.
