Restoring pressure against Iran

By U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts
R-Nebraska

The Islamic Republic of Iran is the leading state sponsor of terrorism. They’ve spent decades funding terror attacks all over the world. Iranian proxies have launched thousands of missiles at Israel. In fact, Iran itself launched the largest ballistic missile attack in history against Israel last year. 

Iran doesn’t just chant ‘death to Israel,’ though. They chant ‘death to America’ as well. Iranian proxies murdered American servicemembers. They’ve tried to assassinate President Trump. Their proxies have launched missile attacks against U.S. Navy warships and commercial cargo vessels. Most concerningly, they are closer than ever to possessing a nuclear weapon. That would greatly threaten the security of the United States and our allies. 

Yet for four years, President Biden chose a policy of appeasing Iran. The Biden administration relaxed sanctions on Iran and enabled them to generate $100 billion in oil revenue. They unfroze $6 billion in Iranian assets on the anniversary of 9/11. And they continued to push for a renewed Iran nuclear deal – even though Iran constantly cheated and continued processing nuclear materials under the first deal! Biden’s weakness emboldened Iran and made Americans less safe. It led to its increased attacks on Americans and our allies. 

President Trump understands that Iran must be deterred. That means using all available tools to impose severe costs on the Iranian regime. President Trump is restoring American strength by reimposing a policy of maximum pressure. I’ve introduced legislation to help him push our allies to do the same. 

During his first administration, Trump’s sanctions drained Iran’s foreign reserves from $122.5 billion to less than $14 billion. He killed Soleimani, Iran’s terrorist Quds Force Commander. And he negotiated the historic Abraham Accords, the Middle East’s first peace agreement in 26 years. He should have won the Nobel Peace Prize for the Abraham Accords. 

His policies worked. And now, President Trump is doing it again. 

Recently, President Trump took executive action to restore maximum pressure against Iran. He directed the Treasury and State Departments to try and drive Iran’s oil exports to zero. This will stop their ability to fund terrorism. He also directed our UN Ambassador to pressure our allies to ‘complete the snapback of sanctions and restrictions on Iran.’ 

President Trump’s actions will make our country safer. But he can’t do it alone. Our allies, including the United Kingdom, France, and Germany, also known as the E3, need to do the same. This week, I introduced legislation pushing our European allies to initiate a snapback of U.N. sanctions on Iran. 

These snapback sanctions would include export controls, travel bans, asset freezes, and other restrictions on those involved in Iranian nuclear and missile activities. My legislation would deliver a strong message to our European allies. They need to step up. They need to do more. 

Iran’s possession of a nuclear weapon would threaten our security and the security of our allies. Nebraska’s Offutt Air Force Base houses U.S. Strategic Command (STRATCOM). STRATCOM plays a critical role in deterring nuclear threats, including those from Iran. A nuclear-armed Iran would directly challenge STRATCOM’s mission and the safety of the women and men serving there. 

We can’t allow that to happen. Snapback sanctions are key to ensuring that President Trump’s maximum pressure policy is successful. On the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, I’ll continue highlighting the threats posed by our adversaries. I’ll continue pushing our allies to honor their commitments. And I’ll continue working with President Trump to keep Americans safe.