Cornyn: Bipartisan Sanctions Bill Holds Iran Accountable

Today on the Senate floor, I addressed the Iran Sanctions legislation the Senate is considering this week. Excerpts of my remarks are below, and video of my remarks can be found here.

Last night, the Senate voted to move forward on tough, new sanctions to hold Iran accountable for its continued support of terrorism. The unanimous vote that we had is a strong message to the world that the United States will not tolerate Iran's complicity on terror and a clear indicator of just how important this legislation is.

As we have seen, the deal that the Obama Administration did relative to Iran's nuclear aspirations did zero, zero, to stop Iran's investment in terrorism around the world. Matter of fact, it generated quite a bit of new cash that Iran could use to pay for acts of terrorism around the world.

Not only is Iran breaking the nuclear deal, but also U.N. Security Council resolutions as well. And in Syria, Iran continues to prop up and shield the butcher of Damascus, Bashar al-Assad, even after he’s brutally used chemical weapons against his own people.

The legislation we will pass this week introduces new sanctions and embargos on Iran. First, it imposes new restrictions on persons who transact with and support Iranian ballistic missile program, giving our President authority to impose sanctions on their weapons providers.

The legislation also makes clear that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps bears responsibility for destabilizing activities and terrorism in the region by extending new sanctions to them as well. This bill also will address Iranian human rights abuses by directing the Secretary of State to submit a list of people who are guilty of human rights violations so we can take further action against them. And lastly, it reaffirms the arms embargo by allowing the President to block the property of any person or entity involved in the supply, sale, or transfer of prohibited arms and related material to or from Iran.

I'm looking forward to getting this legislation through the Senate and on to the President’s desk.