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US House of Representatives approves bill to restrict lifting Iran sanctions
The US House of Representatives yesterday approved a bill which will make it harder for the United States to lift sanctions on Iran, although such a step has already been approved.
Last month, the United States and European Union both lifted nuclear sanctions on Iran, after Tehran appeared to comply with a July agreement which requires Iran to significantly reduce its nuclear development over the next ten years. The sanctions relief is expected to quickly unfreeze billions of pounds worth of Iranian assets and open the door to Iranian international trade. Iran’s President Rouhani visited both Italy and France last week in an attempt to boost trade and signed significant deals with French automotive, energy and aviation companies.
However, the US House of Representatives yesterday voted 246-181 in favour of the Republican-backed Iran Terror Finance Transparency Act. A vote last month which also approved the bill was scrapped after one third of representatives arrived too late to vote. Yesterday’s vote followed party lines almost exactly, with Republicans supporting the bill, Democrats opposing it. The bill would prevent individuals and financial institutions being removed from a Treasury Department blacklist until the President assures US Congress that they have not been involved in terror or ballistic development activities. US President Obama has pledged to veto the draft legislation if necessary. The White House says that such a law would signal “the collapse” of the July agreement.
Israeli leaders from across the political spectrum have expressed deep concerns that Iranian sanctions relief will allow Tehran to allocate more money to sponsoring terror groups in the region. Indeed, ten days ago, US Secretary of State John Kerry appeared to concur with such fears. He said during a visit to Saudi Arabia, whose leaders are also wary of the nuclear deal, “The United States remains concerned about some of the activities that Iran is engaged in in other countries,” including “support for terrorist groups like Hezbollah.”