Bills
| 3.23.22

Do the Sanctions on Iran Need to Stay In-Place Until At Least 2017? (H.R. 3460)

Do you support or oppose this bill?

What is H.R. 3460?

(Updated November 21, 2017)

This bill would prevent the President from waiving, suspending, reducing, or otherwise limiting sanctions that have been imposed on Iran until January 21, 2017 — at which point sanctions could be lifted to whatever extent the President at the time decides.


In the context of this legislation, sanctions are defined as those described in the relevant section of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Act (a.k.a. the Iran nuclear agreement or JCPOA), and other sanctions imposed by the U.S. related to Iran’s nuclear program. Sanctions would also cover individuals who are subject to asset freezes or travel bans.

Argument in favor

The Iran nuclear agreement is a bad deal for the U.S., and threatens to further destabilize the Middle East. Congress needs to keep sanctions in place to prevent Iran from funding terrorism or obtaining a nuclear weapon.

Argument opposed

If Congress prevents sanctions from being lifted on Iran, it would violate the agreement that the P5+1 reached. Iran will only abide by the deal if we do the same, and failing to do so could lead to war or cause Iran to develop nuclear weapons.

Impact

People and organizations who would do business with Iran once sanctions are lifted, Congress, Iran, and the President.

Cost of H.R. 3460

A CBO cost estimate is unavailable.

Additional Info

In-Depth: This legislation is part of a three-part response to the Iran nuclear agreement after it was revealed that the IAEA and Iran had entered into side agreements that were extraneous to the JCPOA.


The IAEA often enters into side deals with countries where it is inspecting nuclear facilities to gain cooperation from host countries in exchange for maintaining a level of secrecy. The controversy stems from the fact that the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act required the President to disclose to Congress “all related materials and annexes” of the deal. Therefore, opponents view the agreement as illegitimate because the Obama administration has not been fully compliant.


Sanctions relief is anticipated to provide Iran with over $100 billion in funds that had been impounded. Given that in the past Iran has used its resources to provide military support to Hamas and Hezbollah, in addition to conducting its own operations in Iraq, there are concerns that this funding could be used for nefarious purposes.


Media:

Summary by Eric Revell
(Photo Credit: Flickr user SaFoxy)