Rex Tillerson Welcomes U.S. Senate Sanctions Against Iran

Rex Tillerson, the U.S. Secretary of State, welcomed the Senate's proposed sanctions against Iran on Tuesday. The Secretary of State, who was present to provide explanations regarding the government's proposed budget in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, emphasized the necessity of countering Iran's ambitions in the region. One senator subsequently asked Tillerson about the Senate's sanctions proposal against Iran due to the country's activities in 'supporting terrorism,' expanding its missile program, and human rights violations. In response, Tillerson stated that he had not yet been able to discuss this matter directly with the President, but he believed [the sanctions] were good. Meanwhile, it was announced on Monday that Senate representatives had reached an agreement to approve the Iran sanctions proposal, which is set to be voted on in the Senate floor this week. The Associated Press reported on Monday that Democrats and Republicans had agreed to add new sanctions against Russia to the Iran sanctions proposal. According to the report, Democrats had previously called for the inclusion of sanctions against Russia in the Iran sanctions proposal. Chuck Schumer, the Senate Minority Leader, welcomed this agreement in a statement on Monday. Senator Schumer stated that the Democratic Party wants the sanctions against Russia to proceed alongside the sanctions against Iran. The Senate proposal against Iran, which has the support of several Democratic and Republican senators, imposes mandatory sanctions on any individual and entity associated with Iran's ballistic missile program and also on commercial parties involved with this program. These sanctions are considered due to Iran's development of ballistic missiles, support for terrorism and militia groups, and human rights violations within the country. The Iran sanctions proposal was approved by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on May 24 of this year, and last week, Senate members voted to end negotiations on this matter. Iran had previously considered the unilateral U.S. sanctions against its missile program as a violation of the nuclear agreement with six world powers, known as the JCPOA. However, Democratic Senator Robert Menendez and Republican Senator Bob Corker, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the sponsors of the new sanctions proposal against Iran, stated that these sanctions do not violate the nuclear agreement with Iran.