Senator cosponsored the Iranian Sanctions Enforcement Act
WASHINGTON – Arizona senior Senator Kyrsten Sinema cosponsored the Iranian Sanctions Enforcement Act. Following the April 13th attack on Israel by Iran, the bipartisan legislation ensures Iran cannot access financial resources to harm American allies, including Israel.
“We’re stopping the flow of money to Iran – the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism – to support our allies, like Israel, and keep America safe and secure,” said Sinema.
The bipartisan Iranian Sanctions Enforcement Act establishes a fund to cover expenses related to the seizure or forfeiture of property found in violation of sanctions imposed by the United States against Iran or a covered proxy of Iran, including Hamas, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and Iran-sponsored militias in Iraq and Syria. The bill also permanently establishes the Export Enforcement Coordination Center. This bill ensures adequate available funding to carry out sanctions enforcement seizures and establishes protocol for properly informed oversight – as well as providing resources to the U.S. Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund.
In April 2023, Sinema, along with a bipartisan group of colleagues, urged President Biden to enforce current Iranian sanctions and empower the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) to seize Iranian oil shipments.
Following Hamas’ terrorist attack against Israel on October 7, 2023, Sinema introduced the bipartisan Revoke Iranian Funding Act, which freezes $6 billion in Iranian assets held in Qatar. Sinema’s bipartisan legislation prevents the Iranian regime – one of Hamas’s largest supporters – from accessing and using the funds currently held in Qatar to finance terrorist attacks against Israel or any other nation. The bill also directs the U.S. Treasury Secretary to study all high-value Iranian assets around the world currently blocked by U.S. sanctions and report these findings to Congress.