SCOOP: House GOP complements Trump's Iran max pressure campaign: "Your terror funding days are numbered"
THE LOWDOWN:
Iran is in for a rude awakening between the maximum pressure campaign President Donald Trump rolled out and a new tranche of legislation the Republican Study Committee (RSC) unveiled this week.
The RSC’s legislation comes as the broader Trump administration is also sounding the alarm about Iran and its potential to quickly build nuclear weapons.
The RSC’s work quickly found fans outside of Congress. The Republican Jewish Coalition’s (RJC) Sam Markstein told the Reporter that “the RJC applauds Republican-led efforts to reinstitute maximum pressure on the terrorist regime in Iran.”
Another pro-Israel insider told the Reporter that “it’s extremely heartening to see Congressional Republicans take the issue seriously.”
Iran is in for a rude awakening between the maximum pressure campaign President Donald Trump rolled out and a new tranche of legislation the Republican Study Committee (RSC) unveiled this week. The actions come after four years of President Joe Biden and his administration failing to confront Iran and its radical Islamic leaders.
Trump, who has been bombing Iran’s Houthi proxies in Yemen for weeks, has been clear for years that Iran can’t be allowed to develop nuclear weapons. In addition to that, the RSC, under Rep. August Pfluger (R., Texas), rolled out its “Enforcing Maximum Pressure: Holding Iran Accountable” initiative, which includes the “toughest Iran sanctions package proposed by Congress,” according to the lawmakers.
Rep. Don Bacon (R., Neb.), one of the toughest Iran hawks in Congress who has been sanctioned by the regime, told the Washington Reporter that “Iran masterminded the killing of 609 Americans in Iraq, and also killed our sailors on the USS Cole, the Marines in Beirut, and the airmen in Khobar Towers, Saudi Arabia.”
“We should never forget this nor forgive the regime. We need to put our economic foot on their neck and choke them of every penny,” Bacon said.
The RSC’s legislation comes as the broader Trump administration is also sounding the alarm about Iran and its potential to quickly build nuclear weapons. Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard recently told Congress that “the [intelligence community] continues to monitor closely if Tehran decides to reauthorize its nuclear weapons program.”
“In the past year, we have seen an erosion of a decades-long taboo in Iran on discussing nuclear weapons in public, likely emboldening nuclear weapons advocates within Iran's decision-making apparatus,” Gabbard said. “Iran's enriched uranium stockpile is at its highest levels and is unprecedented for a state without nuclear weapons.”
Gabbard’s remarks complemented Trump’s repeated warnings about a nuclear Iran, and what House Republicans announced this week.
The ten pieces of legislation the RSC rolled out complement the National Security Presidential Memorandum (NSPM-2) that Trump signed in February, which restores maximum pressure on the government of Iran. The RSC noted in a memo that “Biden’s complacency allowed Iran “to orchestrate, fund, and celebrate the October 7, 2023, attacks on Israel, launch attacks on U.S. servicemembers in the region, and target U.S. shipping and commerce vessels in the Gulf of Aden, the Red Sea, and the Bab el-Mandab Strait.”
Included in the bills is Rep. Zach Nunn’s (R., Iowa) Maximum Pressure Act, which is the toughest sanctions on Iran, which would “gut Iran’s ability to fund terrorism throughout the region, sanction the Supreme Leader of Iran, and force the President to enforce sanctions on Iran’s oil sales,” according to the RSC.
Nunn told the Reporter that his legislation “declares that Iran is responsible for the October 7 terrorist attacks against Israel and that the only suitable punishment for these attacks is a return to maximum pressure on Iran” and “expands sanctions on Iran’s ballistic missile program and sales to also include Iranian drones.” Nunn also said his bill “codifies the maximum pressure campaign to ensure Iran dismantles its nuclear capabilities.”
Rep. Claudia Tenney (R., N.Y.) touted her resolution urging the E3 as a “snapback” on UN sanctions on Iran to the Reporter. Her measure “pushes the United Kingdom, France, and Germany, otherwise known as the E3, to snapback UN sanctions on Iran,” the RSC said.
“These snapback sanctions would include export controls, travel bans, asset freezes, and other restrictions on those involved in Iranian nuclear and missile activities,” they continued.
The RSC’s chair, Rep. August Pfluger (R., Texas), also included his No Iranian Energy Act in the suite of bills. His latest legislation would sanction the importation of Iranian natural gas to Iraq.
“The Republican Study Committee isn’t just talking tough here. We’re delivering a clear message to Tehran,” Pfluger said during a press conference. “America is back, your terror funding days are numbered, and your regime will face consequences that even the Ayatollah cannot pray away.”
The RSC’s work quickly found fans outside of Congress. The Republican Jewish Coalition’s (RJC) Sam Markstein told the Reporter that “the RJC applauds Republican-led efforts to reinstitute maximum pressure on the terrorist regime in Iran.”
“While the last administration appeased and enriched Tehran, the Trump administration and GOP majorities in Congress are working diligently to isolate and bankrupt the mullahs so they are unable to continue funding their malign activities in the region, which threaten the interests of the United States and our allies,” they continued.
Another pro-Israel insider told the Reporter that “it’s extremely heartening to see Congressional Republicans take the issue seriously.”
“Congress needs to continue to hold Iran’s feet to the fire, as well as continue to support Trump administration policies that seek to counter Iran,” the insider noted.