The U.S. Senate Also Approved New Sanctions Against Iran and Russia

The U.S. Senate on Thursday, August 5, approved a bill imposing new sanctions on Iran, Russia, and North Korea with a decisive vote. According to Reuters, the Senate passed the House of Representatives' bill regarding new sanctions against the three countries with 98 votes in favor and 2 against. The House had previously approved the sanctions bill on Tuesday with 419 votes in favor and 3 against. This bill is a new version of a Senate bill that was approved on June 15 with 98 votes in favor and 2 against. The previous Senate bill, known as the 'Countering Iran's Destabilizing Activities Act,' imposed sanctions on Iran for its ballistic missile development, support for terrorism and militia groups, and human rights violations. The newly approved bill imposes sanctions on Russia for its annexation of Crimea, support for Bashar al-Assad in the Syrian war, and potential interference in the 2016 U.S. elections. According to the Associated Press, this sanctions bill targets individuals, human rights violators, arms-exporting companies, and Russia's energy sector. It also intensifies sanctions against North Korea due to its ongoing missile and nuclear tests. The bill is now sent to the White House for enactment and will become law upon the President's signature. If the President vetoes the bill, it will be returned to Congress. In the event of a presidential veto, two-thirds of the House and Senate must vote in favor of the bill to override the veto and enact it into law. While these sanctions were unanimously approved in the U.S. Senate, Iranian officials have recently threatened to respond to these sanctions. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani reacted to the new U.S. sanctions against Iran, stating, 'If the enemy violates part of the agreement, we will also violate part of it,' and threatened that the Islamic Republic will 'certainly' take 'reciprocal action' against the sanctions. Meanwhile, Ali Larijani, the Speaker of the Iranian Parliament, stated on Wednesday that the new U.S. sanctions 'are not a very significant incident, there has been a violation but it will not have a notable impact on the country.' Larijani added, 'The American resolution includes a set of issues that may largely encompass sanctions that existed in the past and currently exist, but in the past were based on the President's order, whereas now they have been legalized.' The Speaker of the Iranian Parliament said, 'The American resolution has a lot of propaganda aspects.' Nevertheless, the European Union expressed concern over the new sanctions bill on Wednesday and announced that it would respond to the House's resolution in the 'coming days.' These sanctions may disrupt the export of oil and gas from Russia to the European Union. In this context, the White House spokesperson stated that the government supports sanctions against Iran, Russia, and North Korea. Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi reacted to the new sanctions, stating, 'It will affect the successful implementation of the JCPOA.'