Senators Donnelly and Young Help Introduce Comprehensive Legislation to Hold Iran Accountable

Bipartisan Bill Expands Sanctions for Iranian Ballistic Missile Development and Support for Terrorism

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Joe Donnelly and Todd Young helped introduce legislation yesterday to hold Iran accountable. The legislation would expand sanctions for Iran’s ballistic missile development, support for terrorism, transfers of conventional weapons to or from Iran, and human rights violations.

Donnelly said, “Iran’s ballistic missile program, support for terrorism and increasingly aggressive behavior toward U.S. naval vessels in the Persian Gulf cannot go without response. Now is a critical time for us to consider this bipartisan legislation and send a strong, united message that these actions will have consequences in the form of increased sanctions against the individuals and entities who participate in them. The U.S. must act decisively, and I hope our international partners will follow our lead.”

Young said, “Iran-the world’s worst state sponsor of terrorism-continues to develop ballistic missiles that represent a serious threat to our forward deployed troops, our allies, and eventually our homeland, and it’s time for the United States to impose serious consequences for Tehran’s actions.”

Donnelly and Young joined Senators Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), James E. Risch (R-Idaho), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) in introducing the legislation.

Donnelly is a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Young is a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.In January, Young joined Marco Rubio (R-FL) and John Cornyn (R-TX) 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.

The Countering Iran’s Destabilizing Activities Act of 2017 contains the following key provisions:

· New Mandatory Ballistic Missile Sanctions: Imposes mandatory sanctions on persons involved with Iran’s ballistic missile program and those that transact with them.

· New Terrorism Sanctions: Applies terrorism sanctions to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and codifies individuals who are currently sanctioned due to Iranian support for terrorism.

· Enforcement of Arms Embargo: Requires the president to block the property of any person or entity involved in specific activities related to the supply, sale, or transfer of prohibited arms and related material to or from Iran.