WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 11th June, 2020) The US Congress should impose new sanctions on Iran's oil, financial and shipping sectors, the Republican Study Committee - the largest Republican caucus in the House of Representatives - said in a report.
"Congress has imposed sectoral sanctions on Iran's energy, shipping and shipbuilding sectors as mandated by the IFCA [Iran Freedom and Counter-Proliferation Act of 2012]," the report said on Wednesday. "Congress should expand the IFCA to go after the petrochemical, financial and automotive sectors of the Iranian economy."
Republican lawmakers also want Congress to require the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) to broaden the scope of sanctionable maritime services by expanding the list of services providing "significant support" to Iran's shipping sector services.
The report also recommends that Congress should prohibit the lifting of sanctions on Iran without approval from the US Senate and House of Representatives. It also suggests Congress should trigger snapback sanctions on Iran for increasing its stockpile of enriched uranium.
Congress, the report said, should support the Trump administration's effort to extend the United Nations arms embargo on Iran, adding that if the initiative fails then Congress should be proactive to prevent China and Russia from entering new arms deals with Iran or assisting Iran with its ballistic missile program.
In addition, the report recommends Congress enact the Stop Evasion of Iran Sanctions Act that would allow the Treasury Secretary to sanction the Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges (INSTEX). The latter is a European special-purpose vehicle that protects European companies from US sanctions when making transactions with Iranian entities.
Furthermore, the Republican lawmakers said Congress should consider replacing the 2001 and 2002 Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) authorities with a new AUMF that will allow the US president to respond to Iranian-backed proxies and terrorist groups such as the Islamic State and al Qaeda (both banned in Russia).
Congress should require the Trump administration to designate Iranian-backed proxy militias in Iraq and Syria, which are labeled as Foreign Terrorist Organizations, and expand sanctions on Hezbollah and its allies in Lebanon, in addition to imposing new sanctions on the Houthis in Yemen, the report said.
Finally ,Congress should reject partnering with Russia to combat the Islamic State in Libya, the report added.
