WASHINGTON – The White House announced Tuesday that President Biden will impose new sanctions on Iran’s missile and drone programs following Iran’s weekend attack on Israel.
National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan made the vague announcement about the penalties amid bipartisan pressure to enforce existing sanctions against the Islamic Republic.
“In the coming days, the United States will implement new sanctions targeting Iran, including new sanctions against Iran’s missile and drone programs and organizations supporting the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and Iran’s Ministry of Defense,” Sullivan said in a statement. We will impose sanctions.”
“These new sanctions and other measures will continue the steady drumbeat of pressure to contain and degrade Iran’s military capabilities and effectiveness and confront a full range of problematic behavior.”
Sullivan said that under the Biden administration, the United States has sanctioned “more than 600 individuals and entities associated with terrorism, terrorist financing, other illicit trade, horrific human rights violations, and support for proxy terrorist organizations, including Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis.” “I imposed the same,” he wrote. , and Kataib Hezbollah. ”
But critics in Congress have criticized nuclear technology, Iraq, Lebanon, the Palestinian Territories, Syria and Yemen.
Israeli authorities said no one was killed, but a 7-year-old Arab girl was seriously injured in a barrage of 320 missiles and drones fired by Iran on Sunday morning local time.
The attack was carried out in retaliation for an April 1 Israeli airstrike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Syria, which killed 16 people.
American and Israeli forces shot down most of the Iranian explosives before they reached their targets.
Biden is not expected to target Iranian oil exports with new sanctions, but Reuters reported Tuesday’s move is likely to spark a new pushback in Congress.
In September, Biden agreed to release $6 billion in frozen Iranian oil revenues held by South Korea in exchange for the release of five Iranian-American prisoners.
The funds were to be held by Qatar for Iran to purchase food, medicine and other supplies.
But America and Qatar A “quiet agreement” has reportedly been reached. The company plans to suspend distribution of funds in October, but the current status of the funds is unclear.
But in November, the U.S. agreed to a sanctions waiver that would allow Iraq to pay Iran for electricity, and Republicans in Congress say Iran will also be allowed to do so. Access to $10 billion.
What is the exemption? reissued last month.
A bipartisan group of Congress urged Biden in January to impose U.S. sanctions after Iranian oil sales, particularly to China, have skyrocketed since taking office. Approximately 2 times Annual exports of the country in 2019 and 2020.
“Iran currently exports more than 1.4 million barrels of oil per day, more than 80% of which is destined for China. From February 2021 to October 2023, the regime will At least $88 billion was taken from the written by the group Among 62 members of Congress, including prominent California Democrats Adam Schiff and Eric Swalwell.
“Iran has reaped significant economic benefits from widespread sanctions avoidance, with Iran’s annual economic growth rate increasing by more than 4% and net foreign exchange reserves increasing by 45%,” the bipartisan group wrote. .
“Earlier this year, it was reported that the administration had scaled back its crackdown on Iranian oil shipments as part of negotiations with Iran. We believe this policy must be reversed.”
