Washington D.C. – This week U.S. Senator Katie Britt (R-Ala.) joined Senator Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and 23 of his colleagues in writing two letters to top officials – Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen, and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. The letters expressed concern over the Biden administration’s recent decision to allow the Iranian sanctions waiver. They accused the administration of engaging in a pattern of appeasement, which allegedly favors to the Tehran regime.
The first letter was a scathing critique of the decision of the administration to extend an exemption that allows Iran access to around $10 billion of new funds. This move followed a similar waiver that was issued in July that contributed to an amount 20 billion dollars in money provided to Iran. The senators expressed their concern about the perceived unbalanced and inconsistent reaction in response to Iranian aggression, in particular since Israel was a victim of attacks by Iran-backed Hamas terrorists and U.S. personnel in the Middle East were targeted by Iranian proxy groups.
Senator Katie Britt highlighted the Biden Administration’s policy of appeasement and said “Money is fungible which is why this Administration has repeatedly granted the world’s top state-sponsored terrorist organization access to over $100 billion over the course of the latest waiver, and refusing to enforce sanctions against Iranian petroleum, before resigning to a devastating $6 billion ransom settlement on September.”
The senators demanded a confidential report of the departments involved inquiring about the administration’s plans to deter Iranian aggression and stop the increase in conflict in the Middle East. They demanded that the assessment be made available at a staff or member-level briefing before December 7, 2023.
In a separate letter senator Katie Britt, along with 30 other Senate Republicans and Senators, urged the President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to enforce existing sanctions against Iranian steel. Senators stressed the necessity of ongoing and proactive enforcement, pointing out the negative effects of negligent or ineffective enforcement.
The letter noted the effect of sanctions previously imposed against the steel and metals industries in Iran as well as producers in 2020. This resulted in a drastic decrease in Iranian exports of steel by 2021. However, senators expressed their concern that Iranian steel exports increased up to 10 million tonnes by 2022, which coincides with a decline in the enforcement of sanctions and return to Iran in order to revive in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
Senators warned against easing sanctions enforcement, asserting that it will increase the wealth of Iran the world’s biggest state-sponsored terrorist sponsor. They urged that the government to monitor all sanctions related to Iran and secondary sanctions against countries that have a relationship with Iran.
The letters emphasized the senators’ belief that a greater stance in the fight against Iran is vital to the security of our nation and for global stability. Senators called on for the Biden Administration to reinstate comprehensive sanctions against Iran along with its terror proxy partners, highlighting the need for peace by constant force.
