Lawmakers Push for Using New Sanctions Powers Against Iranian Oil

A bipartisan group of 41 House members urged the Biden administration this week to “expeditiously implement” and “fully utilize” newly enacted authorities for sanctioning Iranian oil.

In a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, the lawmakers said the authorities could help reduce Iran’s robust oil revenue, which Tehran has used to fund its terrorist proxies. “It is incumbent upon the Department of State and the Department of the Treasury to work together to kneecap Iran’s illicit oil trade,” the lawmakers wrote.

The new authorities are included in the FY 2024 national security supplemental appropriations bill that President Joe Biden signed into law in late April. They include the Stop Harboring Iranian Petroleum (SHIP) Act, which requires sanctions on foreign ports and refineries that knowingly process Iranian oil, and the Iran-China Energy Sanctions Act, which requires sanctions on Chinese financial institutions that process transactions involving Iranian oil (see 2404240043).

The letter was led by Reps. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y.; Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J.; and Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla. A Treasury spokesperson declined to comment on the letter. The State Department had no immediate comment.