Approval of Resolution for Permanent Sanctions on Iran in the U.S. House of Representatives

On Wednesday morning, June 21, the House Foreign Affairs Committee approved two resolutions related to the sanctions imposed against the Islamic Republic and human rights violations in Iran. During the Wednesday session, two resolutions were reviewed. Resolution 3033, proposed by Representative Michelle Steel, a Republican, was introduced to Congress in early April. This resolution calls for the repeal of the 'sunset clauses' of the 1996 U.S. sanctions law against Iran and the permanent establishment of these sanctions. Resolution 492 also includes condemnation of the harassment of the Baha'i minority and the ongoing violations of international human rights covenants by the Iranian government. Previously, a proposed Senate resolution, introduced last December by Robert Menendez, the Democratic Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was supposed to be discussed again with the support of Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn, but the session to review this resolution was canceled. The text of this resolution simultaneously praises the courage and determination of the women and men of Iran in the current nationwide protests, which risk their fundamental rights and security for the free expression of dissent against human rights violations by the Islamic Republic. This resolution also condemns the beating and killing of Iranian protesters, including children, by the government and calls for transparent accountability regarding all cases of killing protesters by the Islamic Republic's security forces. Ultimately, this resolution encourages the Biden administration to continue its ongoing efforts in response to the protests, including sanctions against the Islamic Republic's plainclothes forces. This resolution is in the initial stage of legislation and will be reviewed and voted on at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee level before being referred to the House or Senate. During the nationwide protests that erupted after the killing of Mahsa (Zhina) Amini in the custody of the morality police in late September 2022, at least 500 people were killed by government forces. The Islamic Republic has also executed several protesters in connection with various charges. Shahla Arasteh began her journalistic activities in the U.S. in 2000 with the Atlas Research Foundation and then joined Voice of America in 2007. The representative of the Baha'is in France stated that for the past 40 years, Baha'is in Iran have been denied the right to live. Images from the funeral of Heyman Mostafaei, a political prisoner executed in Sanandaj prison, support Narges Mohammadi's campaign 'Our Story is One.' Canada has sanctioned seven judges of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Iran for human rights violations. Reuters reports that Iran's oil exports have reached their highest level in five years. Heyman Mostafaei was executed following a 'forced confession' in Sanandaj. The grave of an executed protester was set on fire; the cousin of Majid Kazemi stated, 'It will catch up with their own cloak.'