A bipartisan group of senators — including three battleground Democrats fighting for reelection — urged the Biden-Harris administration to move faster against Iran in the wake of legislation the president signed in April.
Included in the emergency supplemental appropriations for Ukraine, Israel, and the Indo-Pacific that President Joe Biden signed into law on April 24 were two measures to help bolster national security against Iran: the Stop Harboring Iranian Petroleum Act, known as the SHIP Act, and the Fight and Combat Rampant Iranian Missile Exports Act, known as the Fight CRIME Act.
Those provisions were enacted to restrict Iran's ability to sell oil and engage in "certain missile-related activities."
After the administration missed five deadlines over the summer to report back to Congress on the status of those security measures against the terrorist state, the seven senators, led by outgoing Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., are pressing the administration for information and action.
In a letter sent by Sinema on Tuesday, signed by vulnerable incumbent Democrat Sens. Jacky Rosen of Nevada, Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, and Bob Casey Jr. of Pennsylvania, the lawmakers pressed the Biden administration to move faster against Iran.
"For decades, there has been evidence that Iran has funded direct attacks on America and our allies. Since Hamas' attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, Iran has only become more emboldened to act against democratic interests across the globe," read the letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Office of Foreign Assets Control Acting Director Lisa Palluconi, and Energy Information Administration Administrator Joseph DeCarolis.
Republican Sens. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, Eric Schmitt of Missouri, and John Hoeven of North Dakota also signed the letter.
"Due to the quantity of oil that Iran is able to trade and the subsequent profits, as well as their historical pattern of utilizing these funds to foster violence and chaos, it is vital that the United States take concrete action to disrupt their petroleum trade. Therefore, we ask the administration to honor the reporting deadlines and enforcement requirements prescribed within the SHIP and Fight CRIME Acts," the senators wrote.
The Biden-Harris administration faces three more deadlines in the next 30 days, including imposing sanctions on "foreign persons determined to have knowingly engaged in the Iranian petroleum trade."
"Given the havoc Iran is wreaking in the Middle East and the wider region, this information is both timely and vital for Congress to carry out appropriate sanctions oversight and understand what greater legislative action is required to ensure Iran does not have the resources to harm the United States or our partners and allies," the senators wrote.