US Can Do More to Curb Iran Oil Exports, Ex-Official Says

The Biden administration and Congress should wield a wide range of tools to choke off Iran’s oil exports, which are fueling Tehran’s support for terrorist groups, a former State Department official said Feb. 28.

Brian Hook, who was the U.S. special representative for Iran and a senior adviser to the secretary of state during the Trump administration, said the Biden administration should tell countries that buy Iran’s oil that they will be cut off from the international financial system if they continue those purchases. “Now China has ways to circumvent that, but you have to look for other pressure points in the bilateral relationship with China so that you drive up the costs of their importing of Iranian crude,” he testified at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing.

Hook said he also would pressure insurance companies to stop covering Iranian oil tankers. To further squeeze Tehran, he would increase sanctions on Iran’s metal and petrochemical exports and its banking system.

He said there are “several good bills” the committee can consider, including the House-passed Stop Harboring Iranian Petroleum (SHIP) Act, which would impose new sanctions on foreign ports and refineries that process or accept Iranian petroleum (see 2311060014), and the End Iranian Terror (End IT) Act, which would require the creation of a strategy to counter China's evasion of U.S. sanctions on Iran.

Hook testified that his efforts during the Trump administration reduced Iran’s oil exports from 2.2 million barrels a day to 300,000. That figure has since rebounded to 1.5 million to 2 million barrels.

Committee Chairman Ben Cardin, D-Md., said he is working to achieve a consensus on an Iran bill, reiterating comments he made several weeks earlier (see 2402010067). He said he wants to improve enforcement of Iran sanctions, including countering illegal oil smuggling to China, which buys most of Iran’s illicit oil exports.

While committee Republicans accused the Biden administration of not doing enough to stem Iran's oil revenue, Cardin countered that the Biden administration hasn't removed any sanctions on Iran and has imposed additional ones. "There is an enforcement issue; there's no question about it," Cardin said. "But I don't want to give the impression that there's been any sanctions relief given to Iran during the Biden administration."

Cardin cautioned that slashing Iran’s oil revenue will not end the country's support for terrorist groups because Tehran prioritizes terrorism over the welfare of its own citizens. “Iran will find ways to finance its proxies, to the detriment of its own people,” he said.

Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, said it was "unfortunate" that the hearing's witness panel was limited to former government officials and didn't include anyone from the current administration. Cardin responded by saying that committee members have had recent opportunities to discuss Iran with Biden administration officials, albeit in classified sessions.