WASHINGTON (AP) — Iran’s attack on Israel last weekend has sparked a wave of bipartisan legislative action in Congress, uniting lawmakers against the country even as the risk of a larger regional war looms.
Several measures introduced and passed in the House of Representatives and the Senate are intended to both publicly condemn Iran and punish the Islamic Republic financially. Lawmakers denounced Iran’s actions, which were in response to a suspected Israeli attack weeks earlier on an Iranian consular building in Syria that killed two Iranian generals.
“The world is on fire and history will judge us by our actions,” Rep. Mike McCaul, R-Texas, chairman of the House Foreign Relations Committee, said during a news conference Tuesday.
The swift, bipartisan condemnation of Iran has sharply highlighted the durability of US support for Israel, even amid growing partisan division over the country’s handling of its more than six-month war with Hamas.
The House of Representatives on Wednesday passed nearly a dozen bills that would, among other things, impose a series of new sanctions and other financial restrictions on Iran and its leaders. Other legislation appears to prevent current Iranian officials subject to sanctions from evading these penalties and urges the European Union to “swiftly” designate the Iranian Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organization, as the US has already done.
Across the Capitol, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee advanced five bills Tuesday, including bills that would target Iran for its human rights record and would require sanctions on ports and refineries that export Iranian oil receive and process.
“Iran’s direct attack on Israel this week underscores the need to further cut off the Iranian regime’s key revenue streams,” Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire said in a statement. “I urge my Senate colleagues to support this bill – which has already passed the House – so we can immediately send it to President Biden’s desk.”
A number of bills had passed the House of Representatives weeks before Hamas’ deadly attack on Israel in October, but have stalled in the Senate committee. An Israeli offensive in Gaza has since caused widespread destruction and killed more than 33,000 people, according to local health officials. Israel’s conduct of the war has revealed the depth of unease among US lawmakers, as concerns over the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza have led even some of President Joe Biden’s closest allies to threaten the future condition aid to Israel.
Democrats in Congress have been reluctant to challenge Biden’s handling of the ongoing conflict and related regional tensions that have taken shape, recognizing that criticism could further weaken Biden in his re-election campaign against former President Donald Trump.
But Saturday’s attack proved to consolidate public support for the Biden administration’s swift response as it ordered U.S. forces to help Israel shoot down “nearly all” of the 300 drones and missiles heading their way.
It also comes as House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., released legislation Wednesday that would provide a combined $95 billion in aid to Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan. The aid package was held up for months due to Republican opposition to continued war funding for Ukraine in its fight against Russia. The Iranian attack on Israel added urgency to Johnson’s plans to put the issue to a vote.
While the measures against Iran have received overwhelming support — with the suite of House bills mostly passing by at least 300 votes — there is a quiet but growing dissent among progressive Democratic lawmakers in both chambers, who warn that the legislative efforts could risk a further escalation of the situation. the Middle East.
“Following Iran’s unprecedented response last weekend to Israel’s attack on its consulate, the Republican Majority is explicitly using a series of bills to further escalate tensions in the Middle East,” said Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N. Y. statement Tuesday “This is a blatant attempt to distract from their own incompetence.”
Saturday’s attack marked the first time Iran launched a direct military attack on Israel, despite decades of enmity dating back to the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Israel has vowed to take revenge on Iran, risking igniting the shadow war between the two enemies further develops into a direct conflict.
Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont, condemned Iran’s attack in a statement but called on his colleagues to respond cautiously. He warned that further US action against Iran could lead to a dangerous escalation that could drag America into a war in the Middle East.
“Cooler heads must prevail now to ensure peace in the region and security for Israel,” Sanders said.
