{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.fischer.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news?ID=4EAC29E7-A48D-4EA3-BAFA-6EB346EF2901", "Fischer, Colleagues Urge Blinken to Bring New Suite of UN Sanctions Against Iranian Regime", "2023-11-08", "2023", "2023-11", "Republican", "Senate", "NE", "Deb Fischer", "F000463", "www.fischer.senate.gov", "fischer", "https://www.fischer.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u00ad\u2013 U.S. Senator Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, recently joined 12 of her Senate Republican colleagues in sending a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken demanding that the Biden administration press for a broader, more permanent framework of sanctions on Iran from the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). The letter was led by U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska).\n\nOn October 18, the United Nation\u2019s (UN) sanctions on Iran\u2019s ballistic missile and drone programs expired, and in October 2020, the UN\u2019s conventional arms embargo against Iran expired. Both expirations are delayed consequences of the Obama administration\u2019s Iran Nuclear Deal.\n\n\u201c[Iran\u2019s] systemic support of terror merits broader, permanent treatment by the UN Security Council. If the Russian Federation and the People\u2019s Republic of China wish to demonstrate their opposition to the UN Charter\u2019s call to advance peace and security, it would provide important clarity to other nations suffering from Iranian terror threats of their true allegiances,\u201d wrote the Senators.\n\n\u201cA new UNSC resolution should target the same activity the UN permanently sanctioned prior to the 2015 enactment of Resolution 2231, including \u2026 involvement in Iran\u2019s enrichment, reprocessing, and heavy water production; assistance with its ballistic missile testing, development, and launches; transfer of nuclear and missile technology to Iran; transfer of conventional weapons, rockets, and drones to and from Iran. It should also add a multilateral prohibition on the import of Iranian oil, petroleum products, metals, or investment in its energy sector, essentially multi-lateralizing the objective of American secondary sanctions in these areas,\u201d the Senators continued.\n\nThe Senators argued that Iran\u2019s material support for terrorist organizations poses a significant threat to the world and merits strong sanctions, just like Iran\u2019s nuclear program \u2014 especially following the recent Hamas attack on Israel.\n\nIn addition to Senators Fischer and Sullivan, the letter was signed by U.S. Senators Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Katie Boyd Britt (R-Ala.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), John Kennedy (R-La.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), John Thune (R-S.D.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), and Tom Cotton (R-Ark.).\n\nRead the full letter here or below.\n\nThe Honorable Antony Blinken\n\nSecretary of State\n\nUnited States Department of State\n\n2201 C Street, NW\n\nWashington, DC 20520\n\nDear Mr. Secretary:\n\nWe were dismayed to witness the October 18, 2023 expiration of UN Security Council (UNSC) Resolution 2231 sanctions on Iran\u2019s ballistic missile and drone programs. We urge you to table a new comprehensive framework for Iran-related sanctions that supersedes UNSC Resolution 2231 and lays the groundwork in advance of the resolution\u2019s slated termination in October 2025.\n\nIran\u2019s nuclear program remains the number one long-term threat to stability and security in the Middle East and beyond. However, this is not the only threat the Iranian regime poses. Iran\u2019s material support for terrorist organizations like Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah, and other proxy forces in the Middle East are front and center in the current crisis in Israel, as is Tehran\u2019s assistance for Russia\u2019s war in Ukraine. Iran, according to the State Department\u2019s own \u201cCountry Reports on Terrorism,\u201d is the world\u2019s \u201cleading sponsor of state terrorism\u201d, \u201cinvolved in supporting terrorist recruitment, financing, and plots across Africa, Asia, Europe, and North and South America.\u201d\n\nThis systemic support of terror merits broader, permanent treatment by the UN Security Council. If the Russian Federation and the People\u2019s Republic of China wish to demonstrate their opposition to the UN Charter\u2019s call to advance peace and security, it would provide important clarity to other nations suffering from Iranian terror threats of their true allegiances.\n\nIn addition to the expiry in October 2020 of the UN\u2019s conventional arms embargo against Iran, the most recent expiration of sanctions on ballistic missiles and drones leaves the world with a rapidly evaporating UN framework for multilateral sanctions on Iran at precisely the time the threat from Iran has become so menacingly clear.\n\nA new UNSC resolution should target the same activity the UN permanently sanctioned prior to the 2015 enactment of Resolution 2231, including the following:\n\nInvolvement in Iran\u2019s enrichment, reprocessing, and heavy water production.\n\nAssistance with its ballistic missile testing, development, and launches.\n\nTransfer of nuclear and missile technology to Iran.\n\nTransfer of conventional weapons, rockets, and drones to and from Iran.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T18:49:58Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.fischer.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news?ID=4EAC29E7-A48D-4EA3-BAFA-6EB346EF2901"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.7159181404858828, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}