Moran: Congress Must Impose Additional Sanctions on Iran

Press Release

Congressman Jerry Moran issued the following statement after passage in the United Nations Security Council of a resolution to sanction Iran for its refusal to suspend its nuclear program. A recent report by the International Atomic Energy Agency says Iran has produced enough fuel to make two atomic weapons. This week's sanctions resolution is the fourth approved by the Security Council since 2006.

"The passage of a U.N. Security Council resolution to sanction Iran for its illegal nuclear program is a good step, but more needs to be done," Moran said. "During the time it took to get an agreement on this resolution, Iran almost doubled its stock of low-enriched uranium and made advancements in its nuclear program. Time is running out. Congress needs to supplement U.N. sanctions with our own strong and comprehensive sanctions in order to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapons capability. The President also needs to use existing authority from previous sanctions to put added pressure on Iran."

Congressional leaders have been working since April to resolve differences between legislation that has passed the House of Representatives and Senate to sanction companies that do business with Iran. Moran is a sponsor of the House legislation, H.R. 2194, the Iran Refined Petroleum Sanctions Act, and has worked to keep it strong. The Iran Refined Petroleum Sanctions Act targets Iran's dependence on foreign sources of refined petroleum by sanctioning companies that provide Iran with these resources.

The White House has asked that the forthcoming legislation include a "cooperating country" exemption, which would make companies in certain countries immune from sanctions if they do business with Iran--drastically weakening the effectiveness of sanctions. Moran has requested House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Howard Berman and Ranking Member Ileana Ros-Lehtinen not agree to the Administration's proposal.

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