10.17.23

Hoeven Helps Introduce Legislation to Freeze $6 Billion Payment to Iran, Investigate Iranian Assets

WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven, a member of the Senate Defense Appropriations Committee, today joined Senator Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, in introducing the Revoke Iranian Funding Act to:

  • Rescind the general licenses that allow Iran access to $6 billion in assets housed in Qatar.
  • Prevent the Iranian regime from accessing and using the funds to finance terrorist attacks against Israel or any other nation.
  • Direct the Treasury Secretary to study all high-value Iranian assets around the world that are currently blocked by U.S. sanctions and provide that information to Congress.

This comes in addition to legislation Hoeven is introducing with Senator Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ken.) to immediately freeze the funds.

“Iran must be held accountable for their sponsorship of Hamas and other terrorist organizations. As the largest state sponsor of terror in the world, the Biden administration should never have allowed Iran access to this $6 billion. Our legislation will freeze this $6 billion to stop Iran from accessing funds that can be used to fund terror and spread violence,” said Senator Hoeven.

“The Biden administration’s decision to release $6 billion to Iran – the world’s leading state sponsor of terror – was a grave mistake that created a market for American hostages, emboldened our adversaries, and put a credit on the balance sheets of one of Hamas’s biggest backers,” said Ranking Member Scott. “In the wake of Hamas’s horrific attacks on Israel, it has only become clearer that this rogue regime cannot be trusted as long they continue to support terrorist organizations. My bill is a comprehensive approach to wielding our economic sanctions tools against Iran by freezing the $6 billion and ensuring Congress has the information necessary to prevent Iran from accessing funds in the future. We must be unequivocal that the United States will not back down and waive sanctions on frozen Iranian funds held by other nations.”

In addition to Hoeven and Scott, the legislation is cosponsored by Senators Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), JD Vance (R-Ohio), Katie Britt (R-Ala.) and Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.). An overview and section-by-section summary of the legislation are available here and here, respectively.

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