US Congress Calls for Additional Steps to Address Iran's Nuclear Program

Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy at a joint meeting of Congress in the Capitol last Thursday. (EPA)
Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy at a joint meeting of Congress in the Capitol last Thursday. (EPA)
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US Congress Calls for Additional Steps to Address Iran's Nuclear Program

Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy at a joint meeting of Congress in the Capitol last Thursday. (EPA)
Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy at a joint meeting of Congress in the Capitol last Thursday. (EPA)

The US Congress is stepping up its efforts to clamp down on Iran to deter it from acquiring nuclear weapons.

A group of 249 bipartisan lawmakers sent a letter to President Joe Biden, demanding he take additional steps to address Iran's nuclear program and prepare to reimpose UN sanctions on Tehran.

The letter, put forward by Republican Dan Crenshaw and Democrat Abigail Spanberger, said the US "must increase its efforts to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, and to communicate to Iran, without any ambiguity, that any further progress in its nuclear program will result in severe consequences."

It also cites Iran's "strengthened alliance" with Russia and China, which bolsters the "Iranian regime's confidence and may make them more likely to challenge US allies and interests."

The letter bore the signatures of 110 Democratic representatives, including representatives who supported the efforts of former President Barack Obama's administration to conclude the nuclear agreement with Tehran.

It is not the first time lawmakers have addressed such a letter to the White House.

Last week, senators sent a similar letter urging the Biden administration to work with European allies to prepare to reinstate sanctions on Iran if it raises its rate of uranium enrichment to 90 percent.

A bipartisan group of 26 senators wrote that the "Congress stands united behind the long-held bipartisan position that Iran must never be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon."

"It is crucial for your administration to remain aligned with Congressional efforts related to Iran's nuclear program and not agree to a pact that fails to achieve our nation's critical interests. We urge you to take meaningful steps to curb Iran's destabilizing activities and deter the regime from pursuing this nefarious ambition any further."

The letters coincide with bills put forward by lawmakers from both parties in the Senate and House of Representatives to restrict the administration's movement in the negotiations with Iran.

The latest of these bills was submitted by top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Senator Jim Risch, reminding the White House of the legal necessity to return to Congress upon reaching any agreement with Tehran.

"As the Biden Administration contemplates another enormous cash windfall to the Iranian regime in exchange for dubious non-proliferation promises, it is vitally important that Congress has a voice in any sanctions relief," said Risch.

"Iran remains actively engaged in supporting Russia's unprovoked war in Ukraine and continues to attack our troops and diplomats. [...] Congress has an obligation to ensure that sanctions relief does not fund these appalling activities."



Türkiye Warns of ‘Serious Consequences’ If Israel Tries to Target Hamas Officials Abroad

 Israeli soldiers watch a tank cross a road, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas, near Israel's border with southern Gaza, in Israel, December 4, 2023. (Reuters)
Israeli soldiers watch a tank cross a road, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas, near Israel's border with southern Gaza, in Israel, December 4, 2023. (Reuters)
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Türkiye Warns of ‘Serious Consequences’ If Israel Tries to Target Hamas Officials Abroad

 Israeli soldiers watch a tank cross a road, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas, near Israel's border with southern Gaza, in Israel, December 4, 2023. (Reuters)
Israeli soldiers watch a tank cross a road, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas, near Israel's border with southern Gaza, in Israel, December 4, 2023. (Reuters)

Türkiye warned Israel of "serious consequences" if it tries to hunt down Hamas members living outside Palestinian territories, including in Türkiye, a Turkish intelligence official said on Monday.

"Necessary warnings were made to the interlocutors based on the news of Israeli officials' statements, and it was expressed to Israel that (such an act) would have serious consequences," the official said.

Israel's public broadcaster Kan reported on Sunday that Israel would hunt down Hamas in Lebanon, Türkiye and Qatar even if it takes years, the head of Israel's domestic security agency Shin Bet said in a recording.

It was unclear when Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar made the remarks or to whom.


Biden’s Allies in Senate Demand That Israel Limit Civilian Deaths in Gaza as Congress Debates US Aid

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speaks during a hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, June 8, 2023. (AP)
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speaks during a hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, June 8, 2023. (AP)
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Biden’s Allies in Senate Demand That Israel Limit Civilian Deaths in Gaza as Congress Debates US Aid

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speaks during a hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, June 8, 2023. (AP)
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speaks during a hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, June 8, 2023. (AP)

As a ceasefire ticked down last week and Israel prepared to resume its round-the-clock airstrikes, Sen. Bernie Sanders and a robust group of Democratic senators had a message for their president: They were done "asking nicely" for Israel to do more to reduce civilian casualties in Gaza.

Lawmakers warned President Joe Biden’s national security team that planned US aid to Israel must be met with assurances of concrete steps from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s hard-right government.

"The truth is that if asking nicely worked, we wouldn’t be in the position we are today," Sanders said in a floor speech. It was time for the United States to use its "substantial leverage" with its ally, the Vermont senator said.

"And we all know what that leverage is," he said, adding, "the blank-check approach must end."

With Biden’s request for a nearly $106 billion aid package for Ukraine, Israel and other national security needs hanging in the balance, the senators’ tougher line on Israel has gotten the White House’s attention, and that of Israel.

Lawmakers of both major political parties for decades have embraced the US role as Israel’s top protector, and it's all but inconceivable that they would vote down the wartime aid. The Democratic lawmakers are adamant that’s not their intent, as strong supporters of Israel’s right of self-defense against Hamas. But just the fact that Democratic lawmakers are making that link signals the fractures in Congress amid the daily scenes of suffering among besieged Palestinian civilians.

Sanders and the Democratic senators involved say they are firm in their stand that Israel's military must adopt substantive measures to lessen civilian deaths in Gaza as part of receiving the supplemental's $14.3 billion in US aid for Israel's war.

The warning from friendly Democrats is a complication for the White House as it faces what had already been a challenging task of getting the supplemental aid bill through Congress. Some Republicans are balking at the part of the bill that provides funding for Ukraine's war against Russia, and the funding for Israel was supposed to be the easy part.

The demand is a warning of more trouble ahead for an Israeli government that's often at odds with the US in its treatment of Palestinians.

"There’s a big difference between asking and getting a commitment" from Netanyahu's government on a plan to reduce civilian casualties and improve living conditions in Gaza, Maryland Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen told The Associated Press. Van Hollen has been one of the key senators huddling with administration officials on the demands.

"So our goal is to achieve results," Van Hollen said. "And not just set expectations."

Following the senators' warning, the Biden administration has upped its own demands to Israel since late last week, insisting publicly for the first time that Israeli leaders not just hear out US demands to ease civilian suffering in Gaza, but agree to them.

Over the weekend, as an end to the ceasefire brought the return of Israeli bombardment and Hamas rocket strikes, the Israeli military said it had begun using one measure directed by the Biden administration: an online map of Gaza neighborhoods to tell civilians which crowded streets, neighborhoods and communities to evacuate before an Israeli attack.

Heavy bombardment followed the evacuation orders, and Palestinians in the Gaza Strip said they were running out of places to go in the sealed-off territory. Many of its 2.3 million people are crammed into the south after Israel ordered civilians to leave the north in the early days of the war, which was sparked by the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attack in Israel that killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians.

The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says more than 15,500 Palestinians have been killed, with 70% of them women and children.

On social media, Sanders repeated his call for an end to blank checks for Israel as Israeli forces returned to heavy bombing after the ceasefire.

While Secretary of State Antony Blinken said more measures were coming besides the online map, it wasn't clear if any would lessen civilian deaths or satisfy administration and lawmaker demands.

Israel is the top recipient of US military aid over time.

Trying to attach strings to US aid to Israel isn't unheard of, for Congress or for US presidents. Ronald Reagan, for instance, repeatedly suspended or threatened suspensions of fighter jet deliveries to Israel over its military incursions in the region in the 1980s. This time, though, is notable since it is being discussed in a Democratic-controlled Senate.

National security adviser Jake Sullivan and other White House officials huddled with the Senate Democrats over the warning. Israeli diplomats and military officials also rushed to stem such a move, hosting lawmakers for repeated viewings of video of Hamas atrocities on Oct. 7 to make the case for the US military aid.

Netanyahu’s coalition has weathered calls in the past from advocacy groups and individual lawmakers. Objections concerned Palestinian civilian deaths in past Israeli wars against Hamas.

Biden from the start adopted what came to be called his "bear-hug" approach to the Israeli leader — embracing him publicly, and saving any US appeals for changed behavior for private discussions. But when Biden told reporters on Nov. 24 he thought conditioning military aid to Israel was a "worthwhile thought," it helped the proposal gain traction among administration-friendly Democratic senators.

Sanders and the Democrats haven't specified what form the conditions could take, as talks continue. Several Democratic senators contend no additional law is necessary. They say existing US law already mandates that countries receiving US military aid heed human rights concerns.

Some Senate Democrats express dislike of the use of the term conditions and depict their action as more of a determination to influence an outcome.

No matter what, "we’re going to do a robust aid package for Israel," said Sen. Tim Kaine, a Virginia Democrat. "But it’s got to be consistent with humanitarian aid, and also efforts to reduce the suffering of Gazans who aren’t part of Hamas."


EU Envoys to Start Debating on Tuesday Ukraine Membership Talks

A man uses plastic to cover a broken window in his apartment following a Russian drone attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Nov. 25, 2023. (AP)
A man uses plastic to cover a broken window in his apartment following a Russian drone attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Nov. 25, 2023. (AP)
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EU Envoys to Start Debating on Tuesday Ukraine Membership Talks

A man uses plastic to cover a broken window in his apartment following a Russian drone attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Nov. 25, 2023. (AP)
A man uses plastic to cover a broken window in his apartment following a Russian drone attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Nov. 25, 2023. (AP)

Diplomatic envoys of the EU's 27 member countries meet on Tuesday to start debating a sensitive proposal to launch membership talks with Ukraine, officials and diplomats said.

The meeting marks the start of preparations among the 27 for a Dec. 14-15 summit of the bloc's leaders that is due to assess and decide on EU integration prospects for Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Bosnia and others.

Specifically, the Tuesday meeting will start debating a draft agreement of the leaders' summit. EU diplomats and officials said the first draft prepared for discussion was bound to change.

The initial draft reads: "The European Council decides to open accession negotiations with Ukraine and with Moldova."

For Georgia, it said the country would get EU candidate status "on the understanding" that Tbilisi implements outstanding conditions.

For Bosnia, the initial draft stated the bloc was "ready to open EU accession negotiations... once the necessary degree of compliance with the membership criteria is achieved."


Iran Vows to Respond to Deaths of Two Revolutionary Guards in Syria

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Nasser Kanaani during a press conference. (Mehr News Agency)
Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Nasser Kanaani during a press conference. (Mehr News Agency)
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Iran Vows to Respond to Deaths of Two Revolutionary Guards in Syria

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Nasser Kanaani during a press conference. (Mehr News Agency)
Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Nasser Kanaani during a press conference. (Mehr News Agency)

Iran will respond to attacks on its interests in Syria, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said on Monday when asked about the killing by Israel of two Iranian Revolutionary Guards in Syria last week.

“No action against Iran’s interests and our advisory forces in Syria will go unanswered,” Reuters quoted Kanaani saying.

Two Iranian Revolutionary Guards members who served as military advisers in Syria were killed in an Israeli attack, Iranian state media reported on December 2, in the first reported Iranian casualties during the ongoing war in Gaza.


Erdogan: Netanyahu will be Tried as War Criminal

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (Reuters)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (Reuters)
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Erdogan: Netanyahu will be Tried as War Criminal

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (Reuters)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (Reuters)

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be tried as a war criminal over Israel's ongoing offensive in the Gaza Strip.

Erdogan said that Gaza is Palestinian land and will always belong to the Palestinians.

His comments came during a speech to a meeting of an Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) committee in Istanbul.


White House Says Nearly Out of Money to Help Ukraine Fight War with Russia

FILE - A man uses plastic to cover a broken window in his apartment following a Russian drone attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Nov. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana, File)
FILE - A man uses plastic to cover a broken window in his apartment following a Russian drone attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Nov. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana, File)
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White House Says Nearly Out of Money to Help Ukraine Fight War with Russia

FILE - A man uses plastic to cover a broken window in his apartment following a Russian drone attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Nov. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana, File)
FILE - A man uses plastic to cover a broken window in his apartment following a Russian drone attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Nov. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana, File)

White House budget director Shalanda Young warned in a letter to Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson and other congressional leaders on Monday that the United States was running out of time and money to help Ukraine fight its war with Russia.
President Joe Biden's administration in October asked Congress for nearly $106 billion to fund ambitious plans for Ukraine, Israel and US border security.
Republicans control the House of Representatives with a slim majority, and funding for Ukraine has become politically controversial with some right-leaning lawmakers.
Young said in a letter released by the White House that cutting off funding and a flow of weapons to Ukraine would increase the likelihood of Russian victories.

Russia launched 23 drones and a cruise missile overnight on Ukraine, Ukraine's air force said on Monday, adding that its air defense systems destroyed the missile and 18 of the drones before they reached their targets.
Anti-aircraft defense was deployed in at least 9 regions of Ukraine, the air force said on the Telegram messaging app.
Reuters could not independently verify the report.
The air force did not provide details on what happened to the drones that were not destroyed or whether there was any damage in result of the attack.


Iranian FM: The Region will Enter New Phase through 'Resistance Forces'

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian receives his Omani counterpart Sayyid Badr al-Busaidi at the Iranian Foreign Ministry headquarters in central Tehran (IRNA)
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian receives his Omani counterpart Sayyid Badr al-Busaidi at the Iranian Foreign Ministry headquarters in central Tehran (IRNA)
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Iranian FM: The Region will Enter New Phase through 'Resistance Forces'

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian receives his Omani counterpart Sayyid Badr al-Busaidi at the Iranian Foreign Ministry headquarters in central Tehran (IRNA)
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian receives his Omani counterpart Sayyid Badr al-Busaidi at the Iranian Foreign Ministry headquarters in central Tehran (IRNA)

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian warned of the expansion of the war amid the renewed Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip, saying that the region will enter a new phase "through resistance forces."

On Sunday, the foreign minister made the remarks during a press conferen with his Omani counterpart Sayyid Badr al-Busaidi in Tehran.

The two ministers discussed the recent developments in Gaza amid reports about a possible Oman mediation in the Iranian nuclear program.

Amirabdollahian said that the new phase of the Israeli attacks on Gaza began with the presence of US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken at the ministerial meeting of the Zionist entity.

He added that the US must bear the consequences of this hypocritical behavior in supporting Israel, saying Washington claims it recommends Israel does not kill civilians while granting it the green light for genocide.

For more than 50 days, "we have been following the developments in Palestine to return stability and security in the region and stop the killing and genocide of the Zionist regime in Gaza," he said.

The leaders of the resistance warned that if the Israeli attacks continue, the region will enter a new phase, he indicated, warning that the killing of children and women must stop before it is too late.

He asserted that Iran never wanted the war to expand, but the warmongers in the region were strongly warned to stop their support for Israeli crimes.

He said that there is documented evidence that the Zionist regime is seeking to displace people in the Gaza Strip forcibly.

"In a part of the documents that were seized by the Resistance forces during the al-Aqsa Storm operation and in a part of the laptops that were captured, this hypothesis has been proven that the Israeli regime seeks to relocate all the residents of Gaza to a part of the territory and land of Egypt, and it seeks to transfer the residents of the West Bank to parts of Jordan," he noted.

"We hope that our brothers in Egypt will take immediate and serious action to reopen the Rafah border crossing and prevent this Israeli conspiracy against the territorial integrity of Jordan and Egypt."

- Discussing nuclear power

Earlier, the official IRNA agency reported that the two ministers were scheduled to discuss developing cooperation, achieving a ceasefire in the Strip, and delivering humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza.

Ahead of his visit to Tehran, Busaidi and his Iranian counterpart discussed over the phone Israel's resumption of war crimes in Gaza without any regard to the international community and global public opinion.

Busaidi warned against the outbreak of war and its expansion in the region, stressing the necessity of establishing a sustainable truce, sending humanitarian aid on a large scale, and establishing an effective international action.

Iranian media expected Busaidi's visit to Tehran to be within the context of exchanging messages between Tehran and Washington to prevent the expansion of tension in the region.

During the past two months, Iranian officials welcomed an Omani initiative proposed by Sultan Haitham bin Tariq.

However, they noted it was not a new agreement or a new plan but rather a practical initiative to converge views between Washington and Tehran and the return of all parties to the 2015 agreement.

Last week, the Director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, said in press statements that talks with Iran might require a new framework rather than an attempt to revive the 2015 accord.

- Borrell urges Tehran to cooperate constructively

The nuclear agreement was part of the telephone conversation between Amirabdollahian and EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell.

The Foreign Ministry reported on Saturday that Amirabdollahian called on Borrell to stop the Israeli military attacks on the Strip and allow the entry of humanitarian aid.

The Iranian diplomat repeated previous warnings against displacing Palestinians and warned of the possibility of expanding the war in the region.

The two officials also addressed Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency's cooperation, and Amirabdollahian noted that the "cooperation will continue within a technical and legal framework."

Borrell expressed hope that constructive cooperation between Iran and the IAEA will continue.

Meanwhile, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi defended his country's positions in the Gaza war.

Speaking on Sunday at the "Second National Conference on Responsibility for the Implementation of the Constitution," Raisi said Iran's support for Gaza and Palestine is wholly based on the constitution's principles, which considers the protection of the oppressed as one of its duties.

"Since the beginning of the victory of the Islamic Revolution, one of the basic principles and approaches of the foreign policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran has been to support the rights of the Palestinian people and to recognize this issue as the first issue of the Islamic world."

He asserted that the principle is still standing and that global political developments will not change the primary direction of foreign policy.

Raisi reiterated that 6,000 children killed by the "Zionist usurpers will bring down this fake, cruel and usurping regime."


SKorea Flies Solid-fuel Rocket amid Space Race with NKorea

A solid-fuel space rocket is launched during a test flight over the sea near Jeju Island, South Korea, December 4, 2023.   The Defense Ministry/Handout via REUTERS
A solid-fuel space rocket is launched during a test flight over the sea near Jeju Island, South Korea, December 4, 2023. The Defense Ministry/Handout via REUTERS
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SKorea Flies Solid-fuel Rocket amid Space Race with NKorea

A solid-fuel space rocket is launched during a test flight over the sea near Jeju Island, South Korea, December 4, 2023.   The Defense Ministry/Handout via REUTERS
A solid-fuel space rocket is launched during a test flight over the sea near Jeju Island, South Korea, December 4, 2023. The Defense Ministry/Handout via REUTERS

South Korea on Monday successfully conducted a flight of a solid-fuel rocket carrying a satellite over the sea near Jeju Island, the defense ministry said, amid a growing space race with neighboring North Korea.
It was the third successful test of the rocket's technology after two others in March and December 2022.
The launch on Monday involved technology developed at the state-run Agency for Defense Development, and a booster and satellite produced by South Korea's Hanwha Systems, the ministry said in a statement.
Hanwha Systems said the satellite, which will be used for civilian purposes including environmental monitoring, had successfully sent signals to the ground control center, Reuters reported.
The ministry hailed the launch as achieving a milestone just after Pyongyang launched its first military spy satellite, which the United States and its allies have condemned for using missile technology contravening UN security resolution.
South Korea's successful launch will enable the country to accelerate its surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities, the ministry said.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carried South Korea's first spy satellite into orbit on Friday from California's Vandenberg Space Force Base.
North Korea on Monday denounced what it called Washington's "double standard" over the two Koreas' satellite launches and said such "brigandish" American standards would never be tolerated.
"North Korea will ... continue to pursue the important mission of establishing aerospace surveillance capabilities to thoroughly monitor and control military moves by the United States and other hostile forces," the North's space agency said in a statement carried by state media outlet KCNA.
Last month, North Korea launched its own military reconnaissance satellite, with leader Kim Jong Un receiving photos of the White House, Pentagon and US aircraft carriers at a naval base in Norfolk, Virginia, according to state media.
A functioning reconnaissance satellite could allow North Korea to remotely monitor US, South Korean, and Japanese troops. South Korea's satellites would reduce its dependence on American intelligence systems.


Iran Denies its Funds in Qatar were Frozen

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Central Bank Governor Mohammad Reza Farzin during a meeting last May. (Iranian Presidency)
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Central Bank Governor Mohammad Reza Farzin during a meeting last May. (Iranian Presidency)
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Iran Denies its Funds in Qatar were Frozen

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Central Bank Governor Mohammad Reza Farzin during a meeting last May. (Iranian Presidency)
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Central Bank Governor Mohammad Reza Farzin during a meeting last May. (Iranian Presidency)

The Central Bank of Iran has denied that there are restrictions on the $6 billion Iranian funds that were transferred to Qatari banks.

Central Bank Governor Mohammad Reza Farzin said Sunday that the funds "are not frozen at all", confirming that their transfer is "in process".

His remarks came three days after the US House of Representatives passed a bipartisan measure that would block Iran from ever accessing the $6 billion recently transferred by the US in a prisoner swap.

The measure — titled the No Funds for Iranian Terrorism Act — passed 307-119 as Republicans sought to hold the Biden administration accountable for what they call their complicity in funding Iranian-backed terrorism in the Middle East.

The bill will have to pass the Senate, which is not likely given the Democratic majority in the upper chamber.

The new resolution would impose new sanctions on the funds to prevent the transfer of any money to Iran. It also threatens to sanction any government or individual involved in processing the transfer of the funds.

The US and Iran reached a tentative agreement in August that eventually saw the release of five detained Americans in Tehran and an unknown number of Iranians imprisoned in the US after billions of dollars in frozen Iranian assets were transferred from banks in South Korea to Qatar.

But days after the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas, the US and Qatar agreed that Iran would not be able to access the money in the meantime, with officials stopping short of a full refreezing of the funds.

US officials rebuffed the criticism pointed at the deal following the attack by Hamas on Israel, noting that not a single dollar has yet to be made available to Iran and insisting that when it is, it can only be used for humanitarian needs.

High-ranking US officials have sought to defend the decision to negotiate with Iran despite its track record of supporting terrorism against the US and its allies. But officials have also conceded that Iran’s influence over the various militant groups is undeniable.


11 Bodies Recovered after Volcanic Eruption in Indonesia

Volcanic ash spews from Mount Marapi during an eruption as seen from Batu Palano village in Agam on December 4, 2023. (Photo by ADI PRIMA / AFP)
Volcanic ash spews from Mount Marapi during an eruption as seen from Batu Palano village in Agam on December 4, 2023. (Photo by ADI PRIMA / AFP)
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11 Bodies Recovered after Volcanic Eruption in Indonesia

Volcanic ash spews from Mount Marapi during an eruption as seen from Batu Palano village in Agam on December 4, 2023. (Photo by ADI PRIMA / AFP)
Volcanic ash spews from Mount Marapi during an eruption as seen from Batu Palano village in Agam on December 4, 2023. (Photo by ADI PRIMA / AFP)

The bodies of 11 climbers were recovered Monday a day after a furious eruption of the Mount Marapi volcano in West Sumatra as Indonesian rescuers searched for 12 apparently still missing.
Marapi has stayed at the third highest of four alert levels since 2011, a level indicating above normal volcanic activity and prohibiting climbers or villagers within 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) of the peak, said Hendra Gunawan, the head of the Center for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation.
“This means that there should be no climbing to the peak,” Gunawan said, adding that climbers were only allowed below the danger zone, "but sometimes many of them broke the rules to fulfill their satisfaction to climb further.”
About 75 climbers had started their way up the nearly 2,900-meter (9,480-foot) mountain on Saturday and became stranded. Eight of those rescued Sunday were rushed to hospitals with burns and one also had a broken limb, said Hari Agustian, an official at the local Search and Rescue Agency in Padang, the West Sumatra provincial capital.
All of the climbers had registered at two command posts or online through West Sumatra’s conservation agency before they climbed, Agustian said. It was possible others took illegal roads or local residents were active in the area, but it couldn't be confirmed, he said.
Marapi spewed thick columns of ash as high as 3,000 meters (9,800 feet) in Sunday's eruption and hot ash clouds spread several miles (kilometers). Nearby villages and towns were blanketed by tons of volcanic debris. Volcanic dust and rain smeared the faces and hair of evacuated climbers, according to video on social media.
Falling ash blanketed several villages and blocked sunlight, and authorities distributed masks and urged residents to wear eyeglasses to protect them from volcanic ash. About 1,400 people live on Marapi’s slopes in Rubai and Gobah Cumantiang, the nearest villages about 5 to 6 kilometers (3.1 to 3.7 miles) from the peak.

West Sumatra’s Search and Rescue Agency head Abdul Malik said rescuers found 11 bodies of climbers as they searched for those who still missing and rescued three others Monday morning.