The Biden administration has announced new sanctions on the Islamic Republic aimed specifically at its missile and drone programs.
National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan announced the sanctions on Tuesday night as part of a coordinated effort with other allies to isolate Iran from missile and drone technology. According to a White House statement, other new sanctions target Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Defense Ministry.
“These new sanctions and other measures will continue a steady drumbeat of pressure to contain and degrade Iran’s military capacity and effectiveness and confront the full range of its problematic behaviors. … We will not hesitate to continue to take action, in coordination with allies and partners around the world, and with Congress, to hold the Iranian government accountable for its malicious and destabilizing actions,” the statement read.
On Thursday, the UK followed suit with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s announcement that fresh sanctions had been implemented against seven of Iran’s leading military figures and several Iranian entities. These include the IRGC Navy, high-ranking generals, and officials in the country’s Aerospace Industries Organisation (AIO). As a result, the individuals are subject to a travel ban and asset freeze, while any assets of the sanctioned entities can be frozen.
Earlier Tuesday, a bipartisan coalition of 145 U.S. House members, led by Rep. Randy Weber (R-TX), introduced a resolution condemning the Iranian government and endorsing a plan to replace the ruling theocracy as put forth by the Iranian dissident group called the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI).
The resolution includes a long list of human rights violations by the regime, as well as acts of terrorism and murder, including instigating the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel through its proxies and continuing to fuel the conflict.
“Western nations bear a responsibility to hold the Iranian regime accountable for its actions that incite violence, terror, and instability … the Iranian regime has been deeply implicated in furnishing support, both financial and military, to proxies in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Gaza, and elsewhere in the region, as well as on a global scale … the IRGC has, for over four decades, played a crucial role in internal suppression, terrorism, and regional proxy wars and has garnered designation as a terrorist entity by several nations, including the United States,” reads the resolution in part.
It follows up with a call for supporting the “Ten-Point Plan for the Future of Iran of Mrs. Maryam Rajavi,” an Iranian dissident politician who leads the People’s Mujahedin of Iran, one of the main members of the NCRI.
Rajavi’s plan is touted as the basis for a new governing document for a future Iran that is no longer a theocracy.
The document pledges to keep Iran non-nuclear and institute liberal reforms like “complete gender equality” and “autonomy for and removal of double injustice against Iranian nationalities and ethnicities consistent with the NCRI’s plan for the autonomy of Iranian Kurdistan,” per the NCRI. It also calls for establishing and protecting other rights, including “freedom of speech, freedom of political parties, freedom of assembly, freedom of the press and the internet.”
Lawmakers who backed the resolution contend that the best way to help Israel is to fully back the NCRI’s efforts to overthrow the Islamic Republic.
“And we’ve got to stop undermining the Iranian opposition, ” Rep. Tom McClintock (R-CA) told Newsmax. “And just as we must send long overdue assistance to Israel, we must send long overdue assistance to the Iranian resistance.”
Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA) said that if the NCRI succeeds in overthrowing the current regime, “Iran will again be a friend to the United States and a blessing to the Middle East,” per Newsmax.
The firm stance against the Islamic Republic in Iran has its supporters among the Iranian diaspora community in North Texas.
The Dallas Express contacted the Iranian-American Community of North Texas (IACNT), the regional chapter of the Organization of Iranian American Communities, which supports the NCRI, to comment on the House resolution.
In a statement, IACNT Chairwoman Homeira Hesami said:
“This resolution is very important for our community in North Texas because it emphasizes the solution to the threats posed by the Iranian regime to both the region and the Iranian people. This resolution emphasizes the need to empower those who seek change in Iran; it supports the Ten-Point Plan of Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, which is about a future in Iran devoid of any form of dictatorship of the Shah or the clergy.”
She then noted that the plan’s emphasis on protecting women’s rights resonates with her particularly because she was once a political prisoner of the Iranian regime.
Hesami also expressed her pride in Texas, noting it has the “distinction of having the highest number of bipartisan original co-sponsors for this resolution. Our community’s hard work and dedication are evident in this achievement, and we are equally proud that our cause has resonated with both our Republican and Democratic members of the House from Texas.”
