Young Helps Introduce Iran Non-Nuclear Sanctions Act

YOUNG HELPS INTRODUCE IRAN NON-NUCLEAR SANCTIONS ACT

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Todd Young (R-IN), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, joined Marco Rubio (R-FL) and John Cornyn (R-TX) today to introduce the Iran Non-nuclear Sanctions Act, a bill to impose harsh financial and economic sanctions to counter the Iranian regime’s growing non-nuclear provocations, including Iran’s support for international terrorism, ballistic missile violations, and human rights abuses.

“Iran remains a preeminent threat due to its continued support for terrorism and its aggressive development of ballistic missiles that threaten our allies, forward deployed troops, and eventually our homeland,” said Young.“This legislation would impose real consequences on Iran and make clear that the days when Tehran’s terrorist and ballistic missile activities elicited little more from Washington than a strong statement and a slap on the wrist are gone.”

Senators Rubio and Cornyn, along with outgoing Senators Mark Kirk (R-IL) and Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), introduced an earlier version of the bill in December 2016.

Background

The Iran Nonnuclear Sanctions Act:

· Imposes new sanctions against Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Mahan Air, an Iranian airline that has helped the IRGC to spread terrorism and militancy;

· Creates a new Treasury Department watchlist for entities in which the IRGC has an ownership interest of less than 25 percent;

· Expands current sanctions and imposes newsanctions againstIranfor its egregious human rights abuses, while also mandating full transparency to Congress on all American citizens detained or kidnapped by Iran and U.S. government efforts to free them;

· Imposes newsanctionsagainst persons that knowingly aidIran’s ballisticmissileprogram;

· Mandates newsanctionsagainst entities owned 25 percent or greater or controlled byIran’s keyballisticmissileorganizations, including the Aerospace Industries Organization, the Shahid Hemmat Industrial Group, or the Shahid Bakeri Industrial Group;

· Requires a presidential certification that persons listed in U.N. Security Council Resolutions are not engaged in activities related toballistic missiles and requires the impositionofsanctionsif that certification cannot be made;

· Imposessanctionson persons involved in sectorsofIran’s economy that support, directly or indirectly,Iran’sballisticprogram; and

· Codifies current prohibitions againstIran’s direct and indirect access to the U.S. financial system, while also streamlining and strengthening the requirements for the president to removeIranor any other country from the state sponsorsofterrorism list.