Foreign Policy Advisors Urge Senate to Reinstate Iranian Sanctions

WASHINGTON — Foreign policy advisors suggested to a Senate committee Wednesday that the United States return to a policy of “maximum pressure” on Iran to halt its use of proxies for terrorist attacks.

A Senate Foreign Relations Committee notice of its hearing called Middle Eastern Islamic militias funded by Iran “Tehran’s shadow army.”

In one example, senators said Iran provided 93% of the funding for Hamas fighters who attacked Israel Oct. 7. Before the attack, Hamas built a network of tunnels in Gaza to hide its troop movements and its stockpiling of weapons.

The “maximum pressure” policy of sanctions started during the Trump administration as evidence grew that Iran was trying to develop nuclear weapons. The sanctions mostly interfered with Iranian oil exports, eventually costing the country around $200 billion.

The Biden administration largely relaxed the sanctions, which foreign policy advisors at the Senate hearing said has restored Iran’s revenue and the money it directs to Islamic extremists like Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis.

Regardless of any goodwill by the Biden administration, the Iranians have not modified their goal of driving the United States out of the Middle East and destroying Israel, according to witnesses and lawmakers. Militias funded by the Iranians are their main tool for exerting their influence, they said.

Rather than occasionally changing U.S. foreign policy, “We need a long-term plan to deal with Iran’s proxy network,” said Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., who chairs the Foreign Relations Committee.

Sen. James Risch, R-Idaho, said, “Attacks against Americans are at an all-time high.”

He recommended a policy of containment that would include permanently freezing Iranian assets around the world.

Risch is a co-sponsor of the Stop Harboring Iranian Petroleum Act, a bill meant to impose economic sanctions against any countries that import petroleum from the Islamic Republic of Iran.

He also co-sponsored the End Iranian Terrorism Act, which would require the administration to develop a stricter policy for enforcing sanctions against Iran, particularly to stop oil exports to China.

“The People’s Republic of China, seeking to secure reliable sources of Middle Eastern energy, has purchased roughly $47,000,000,000 in Iranian petroleum products since 2021 and is undercutting the enforcement of sanctions imposed by the United States with respect to Iran,” the bill says.

The foreign policy behind the bills generally won support from witnesses at the Senate hearing.

“You cannot relax your vigilance and deterrence against this regime,” said Brian H. Hook, former U.S. special representative for Iran.

He quoted a Hezbollah leader’s comment about Iran saying, “As long as Iran has money, we have money.” He was referring to reports that Iran provides 70% of Hezbollah’s funding.

Hezbollah is a Shia Islamist political and militant group based in Lebanon. Much of its militancy is directed against Israel.

As Iran’s finances rose with relaxed sanctions, it has put more money into weapons development, Hook said.

“An Iranian regime with a nuclear weapon dominating the Middle East is in the interest of nobody in the world,” he said.

He recommended a policy to hold Iran more directly responsible for aggression of its militant proxies.

Suzanne Maloney, foreign policy director for the Brookings Institution, a public policy foundation, said Iran has expanded its influence through a “network of militias” that “extends throughout the Middle East and around the world.”

“They also seek to capitalize on American mistakes,” she said.

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