Senate to vote on Iran sanctions bill
The Senate is expected to vote this week on bipartisan legislation that would expand U.S. sanctions against Iran's ballistic missile program and also target its support for terrorism, human rights violations and transfers of conventional weapons.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, on Monday evening set up a procedural vote for Wednesday, with the final vote likely to take place on Thursday. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee passed the bill out of committee late last month.
The measure, which has at least 48 co-sponsors, would impose mandatory sanctions on people involved with Iran's ballistic missile program and people who do business with them. The bill would also apply sanctions to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard and notes people who are currently sanctioned as a result of Iranian support of terrorism, according to a summary of the legislation. If passed, the bill would include an arms embargo that would require the president to block the property of anyone or any entity involved in the sale, supply or transfer or prohibited weapons to or from Iran.
The House has not yet voted on the bill.
In early February, shortly after President Trump's inauguration, his administration imposed sanctions against multiple entities and people involved in procuring materials and technology to support Iran's ballistic missile program and the Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard. The move came after Iran conducted a ballistic missile test.
At the time, the Treasury Department said that the sanctions are consistent with the Iranian nuclear deal's guidelines and as a result of the sanctions, "all property and interests in property of those designated today subject to U.S. jurisdiction are blocked, and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions with them."
