US Senators Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Codify Sanctions on Iran’s Missile Program

US President Joe Biden (C), alongside Vice President Kamala Harris (C-L) and Biden's wife, First Lady Dr. Jill Biden (C-R), hosts members of Congress for a Congressional picnic on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 19 July 2023.  EPA/JIM LO SCALZO
US President Joe Biden (C), alongside Vice President Kamala Harris (C-L) and Biden's wife, First Lady Dr. Jill Biden (C-R), hosts members of Congress for a Congressional picnic on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 19 July 2023. EPA/JIM LO SCALZO
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US Senators Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Codify Sanctions on Iran’s Missile Program

US President Joe Biden (C), alongside Vice President Kamala Harris (C-L) and Biden's wife, First Lady Dr. Jill Biden (C-R), hosts members of Congress for a Congressional picnic on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 19 July 2023.  EPA/JIM LO SCALZO
US President Joe Biden (C), alongside Vice President Kamala Harris (C-L) and Biden's wife, First Lady Dr. Jill Biden (C-R), hosts members of Congress for a Congressional picnic on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 19 July 2023. EPA/JIM LO SCALZO

US Senator Bob Menendez, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Senator Bill Hagerty have introduced the MISSILES Act, a bipartisan bill to impose US sanctions on Iran’s missile and drone program.

This move came as Israeli President Isaac Herzog said in his address to Congress that Iran “spreads hatred, danger, and terror in the Middle East and publicly calls for the destruction of the State of Israel.”

The looming October 2023 sunset of key UN Security Council restrictions on Iran’s ballistic missiles and drones – including potential transfers to Russia for use against Ukraine – “underscores the need for this urgent legislation,” Menendez and Hagerty said Wednesday.

This bill codifies sanctions on Iran’s missile and drone program under Annex B of UN Security Council Resolution 2231. It ensures that Iran’s destabilizing development and proliferation of ballistic missile technology remains subject to appropriate US sanctions in the likely event that Russia and China block an extension of UN restrictions in the Security Council.

“Iran will not stop developing its missile and drone programs, nor will they stop providing this dangerous technology to its proxies and to Russia’s illegal war against Ukraine,” said Menendez.

“It is absolutely vital that our sanctions policy reflect that reality in the event UN restrictions come to an end in October. The United States must continue to disrupt Iran’s proliferation of missiles and UAVs, as well as its supply to proxies and to Russia.”

Menendez called on US allies and partners “to join us in addressing the threats posed by Iran’s ballistic missile program.”

As for Hagerty, he said: “Iran’s terror-sponsoring regime continues to violate with impunity the UN Security Council’s international prohibitions on the export of missiles, drones, and other destabilizing weapons to foreign actors.”

“This bipartisan legislation imposes far-reaching sanctions against any foreign individual, entity, or government that is engaged in activities related to Iran’s missiles, drones, and other destabilizing weapons—even if the UN Security Council’s international prohibitions are irresponsibly allowed to sunset in October 2023,” he added.



Defense Minister: Israel Will Strike Iran Again if Threatened

FILED - 25 June 2024, Israel, Jerusalem: Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz is pictured in Jerusalem. Photo: Hannes P Albert/dpa
FILED - 25 June 2024, Israel, Jerusalem: Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz is pictured in Jerusalem. Photo: Hannes P Albert/dpa
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Defense Minister: Israel Will Strike Iran Again if Threatened

FILED - 25 June 2024, Israel, Jerusalem: Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz is pictured in Jerusalem. Photo: Hannes P Albert/dpa
FILED - 25 June 2024, Israel, Jerusalem: Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz is pictured in Jerusalem. Photo: Hannes P Albert/dpa

Israel will strike Iran again if it is threatened by Tehran, Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Thursday.

"Israel's long arm will reach you in Tehran, Tabriz, Isfahan, and anywhere you try to threaten or harm Israel. There is no place where you can hide. If we must go back, we will go back and with greater force," Katz said in remarks released by his office.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday said he does not believe Iran will pursue a nuclear program following the strikes levied by both US and Israel last month.

"They're afraid," Netanyahu told FOX Business. "They know they felt the might – the might of America, the might of Israel and the combined might of Israel and America."

"It's made an impact, not only in the Middle East, it's made an impact around the world. Everybody sees this," he added.

Netanyahu also said: "I think the Iranians understand that what the US and Israel did once, we could do twice and thrice."

The Israeli leader acknowledged that Tehran could attempt to redevelop its program and that the US and Israeli must treat the issue as a "cancer" that needs to be continually monitored.

Netanyahu also said that he doesn’t believe Iran maintains the capability to build a nuclear weapon, even if Tehran moved some highly enriched uranium from the top nuclear site, due to the damage inflicted on other elements of its atomic weapons program.

"Enriched uranium is not enough to make atomic bombs. Okay, it's a necessary component, but it's not sufficient," he said.