Several Iran-related bills passed the committee stage of the US Senate Tuesday that enhance sanctions on Iran’s leaders and require the President to sanction ships, ports, and refineries carrying or processing Iranian oil.
The bills have to pass a full Senate vote and be signed by the President to become law. But their sponsors were relieved to see their measures finally get over the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC) hurdle.
“I'm glad my End IT Act, the SHIP Act, and the MASHA Act passed out of committee today,” Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, posted shortly after the closed door committee meeting. “The Middle East is in unprecedented turmoil and weak U.S. policy has failed to re-establish deterrence with Iran. It’s past time to act, and Congress has a role to play.”
Of the bills that were marked up in the SFRC Tuesday, MAHSA Act was perhaps the most watched and the most controversial, having been held back from the committee for a long time after it passed the House –and now said to be heavily ‘diluted’ before being sent to the floor for vote.
The bill, titled the Mahsa Amini Human Rights and Security Accountability Act, was first introduced to the US Congress in January 2023, four months after the start of nationwide protests in Iran. The bill was a response to the regime’s brutal crackdown of the uprising, and was named after the young woman whose killing by the police started it all.
In its original version, the Mahsa Act required the US government to impose applicable sanctions on Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, his Office and his appointees, Iran’s president and a number of entities affiliated with Khamenei. It also required the US President to report to Congress every year whether those officials should remain under existing sanctions, making it much harder for the current and future administrations to unilaterally lift the sanctions.
“The marked up Senate version of the MAHSA Act that passed today is not the real MAHSA Act that passed the House almost unanimously with 410 votes,” wrote Nick Nikbakht, an Iranian-American businessman and activist, on X . “I have been informed that Senator Cardin has fundamentally changed the bill to dilute and give Biden admin loopholes to not apply any sanctions against the terrorist regime in Iran!”
Senator Cardin (D-MD), chairman of the SFRC has been criticized by Iranian-American activists and critics of Joe Biden for his delay in handling of the MAHSA Act. The other bills marked up by Cardin Tuesday seem to have passed without much change.
Less discussed but perhaps no less consequential is the Stop Harboring Iranian Petroleum Act (SHIP Act), which Imposes sanctions on ports and refineries that process Iranian oil in violation of US sanctions.
The other bills that passed the SFRC Tuesday were the MISSILES Act and the End Iranian Terrorism Act (END IT Act) –the former sanctioning those involved in Iran's missile or drone programs, and the latter makes it harder for US administrations to issue sanction waivers to Iran, as long as it “funds terrorism.”
Collectively, these acts are seen not just as attempts to pressure the Iranian regime, but as reactions to Biden’s Iran policy, which his critics in the Congress say is too forgiving.
“Iran, unchecked by the Biden Administration’s policies of appeasement, has expanded its global operations,” Senator Risch said last week. “It is past time the Biden Administration changed course and aggressively targeted Iranian assets. It would not be that tough to do… but they have a different view of Iran than our side does.”
Contradicting remarks by the Islamic Republic's armed forces chief, who claimed that the attack had achieved all of its objectives, IDF spokesperson Rear Adm Hagari who accompanied Iran International's reporter to the airbase stated that the facilities had sustained minimal damage. Video footage shows that there was minor damage to non-critical areas in the base, while F-35 warplanes were seen taking off.
Hagari explained that the only place that has suffered some damage to its infrastructure during Iran’s attack is this airbase which is “fully in operation”.
“The Islamic Republic is lying. All the money that Iran spent on this attack resulted only in this pit”, The IDF spokesman said, showing a cavity in the ground next to an unfinished concrete structure.
Iran launched hundreds of ballistic and cruise missiles as well as drones at Israel on Saturday. However, the Israeli Defense Forces confirmed that some 99% of the incoming projectiles were downed, and those that survived caused only minor damage.
As reported by the IDF, the Israeli Air Force successfully intercepted and destroyed 170 drones and 30 cruise missiles outside the country's borders.
Another factor contributing to the limited impact was that US, UK, French, and Jordanian jets flying over the region and downing Iranian drones and cruise missiles.
In addition, Arab nations such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates provided intelligence assistance to the defensive operation, as reported by the Wall Street Journal.
As this is the first time Iran has attacked Israel from its soil, the threat of a wider conflict in the region has been raised.
Until now, Israel has stated that the Iranian attack on its soil "will be met with a response", but has not provided further details. The Israeli war cabinet has made three times to decide about a potential response. Israel's Western allies have urged restraint, concerned about a further escalation in the region.
Israel Army Chief of Staff Gen. Halevi stated in a video statement that Iran will face the consequences of its actions. “We will choose our response accordingly."