The Syrian American Council commends the U.S. Senate for overwhelmingly passing bipartisan sanctions on Russia and Iran, including for their support of the Assad regime, by a vote of 98-2. With your help through advocacy days and call-in campaigns, the Syrian American Council has been working for months to achieve sanctions against Russia and Iran for their crimes in Syria. Today, the Senate did the right thing.
In relation to Syria, this legislation would:
- Extend sanctions on Iran for its ballistic missile program, support of terrorism and human rights violations, including its support of the Assad regime.
- Require the Trump Administration to submit an assessment to Congress of Iran's support, funding and training of the Assad regime, Hezbollah, and Iranian backed militias in Syria, along with a report on what the administration is doing to counteract these threats.
- Impose terrorism-related sanctions on the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps, which has been the main engine supporting the Assad regime, Hezbollah, and its affiliated militias in their assault on the Syrian people.
- Impose sanctions on Iranian-backed entities involved in supporting the Assad regime.
- Impose sanctions on Russian individuals or entities supplying weapons to the Assad regime, including Russian defense and intelligence agencies such as the FSB and GRU.
- Impose new sanctions on Russia’s energy, mining, and banking sectors.
- Require Congressional approval if sanctions on Russia are to be relaxed, suspended or terminated.
The passage of this bill must be complemented by the designation of the IRGC along with its affiliate militias in Syria such as Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba, Liwa' Abu Fadel al-Abbas, and others, as a Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO) by the U.S. Department of State. Furthermore, we call on the House of Representatives to do its part and pass this bill without weakening these sanctions in any way.