12.01.16

Hoeven: Iran Sanctions Legislation Will Help Prevent Iran from Funding Terrorism

Senator Opposed Nuclear Agreement Administration Reached With Iran Last Year

WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven today announced that the Senate has passed H.R. 6297, the Iran Sanctions Extension Act (ISEA), which extends the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996 through 2026. The sanctions would have expired this year if an extension had not been passed. The House passed the extension last week, and it will now go to the President to be signed.

“Iran has a long history of not only sponsoring terrorism, but also of acting belligerently toward the United States and our allies in the Middle East,” Hoeven said. “We are committed to our allies, especially Israel, and we will not turn a blind eye to Iran’s actions. Today we extended sanctions against anyone wanting to invest in Iran’s energy sector. These sanctions should remain in place as long as Iran is a state sponsor of terrorism and destabilizes the Middle East region.”

The Iran Sanctions Act of 1996 requires the President to sanction any entity that invests in Iran’s energy sector. The bill is designed to penalize Iran for sponsoring terrorism and make it difficult for Iran to obtain technology that could be used to develop or proliferate weapons of mass destruction.

The nuclear agreement reached between the Obama administration and the Iranian government last year lifted several financial sanctions on Iran in return for an Iranian commitment to slow its nuclear program. However, the original sanctions on energy sector investment imposed under the Iran Sanctions Act remain in place.

Last May, the Senate voted 98-1 to subject the Administration’s Iran nuclear agreement to Senate approval before it could go into effect. Last September, Hoeven and a bipartisan majority of senators voted to oppose the deal, but that vote was filibustered and the Administration implemented the agreement under an executive order without Senate consent.

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