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US Senators Introduce the ‘Mahsa Amini’ Act

Pictures of Mahsa Amini are still present in all movements against the Iranian regime. (EPA)
Pictures of Mahsa Amini are still present in all movements against the Iranian regime. (EPA)
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US Senators Introduce the ‘Mahsa Amini’ Act

Pictures of Mahsa Amini are still present in all movements against the Iranian regime. (EPA)
Pictures of Mahsa Amini are still present in all movements against the Iranian regime. (EPA)

US Senators Marco Rubio and Alex Padilla introduced the Mahsa Amini Human Rights and Security Accountability (MAHSA) Act to the Senate to hold accountable the Iranian leadership and tighten the noose of sanctions over human rights abuses and the crackdown against protestors in Iran.

This bill would require a report to Congress in 90 days regarding each foreign person described as responsible for human rights violations in Iran, the Supreme Leader, the President of Iran, and entities overseen by their offices.

The report should be published on the website of the US federal government.

The bill would impose applicable sanctions on those identified individuals and institutions.

“The Iranian regime has actively wreaked havoc against its own people and countless other nations. The US must evaluate and re-amp economic pressure against Senior Iranian regime officials who are actively partaking in the crackdown of Iranian protestors and civilians,” said Senator Rubio.

“Iranian protesters have demonstrated tremendous courage in voicing their outrage toward the Iranian regime after the brutal murder of Mahsa Amini. We must do our part to hold Iranian leaders accountable for their violent crackdown of these protests and the regime’s ongoing repression, censorship, and abuse against its people,” said Senator Padilla.

The MAHSA Act – which has 68 Republican and 60 Democrat cosponsors – and is supported by the National Union for Democracy in Iran (NUFDI), United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), was first introduced by Representatives Jim Banks (R-IN) and Eric Swalwell (D-CA) during the 117th Congress in January, about four months of protests following the death of 22-year-old Iranian-Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini at the hands of Iran's hijab police.

“The Supreme Leader is an institution of the Islamic Republic of Iran...that holds ultimate authority over Iran’s judiciary and security apparatus, including the Ministry of Intelligence and Security, law enforcement forces under the Interior Ministry, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and the Basij, a nationwide volunteer paramilitary group, subordinate to the IRGC, all of which have engaged in human rights abuses in Iran,” read a paragraph of the MAHSA Act.

Some lobbyists and a few lawmakers have been seeking to dilute the act, describing it as “not leading to any increased sanctions” because Khamenei and Raisi were already sanctioned by the US.

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Taiwan Demonstrates Sea Defenses against Potential Chinese Attack as Tensions Rise with Beijing

A Taiwan navy Tuo Chiang-class corvette(rear) and Kuang Hua VI-class missile boat (front) maneuver during a drill in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, 09 January 2025. EPA/RITCHIE B. TONGO
A Taiwan navy Tuo Chiang-class corvette(rear) and Kuang Hua VI-class missile boat (front) maneuver during a drill in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, 09 January 2025. EPA/RITCHIE B. TONGO
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Taiwan Demonstrates Sea Defenses against Potential Chinese Attack as Tensions Rise with Beijing

A Taiwan navy Tuo Chiang-class corvette(rear) and Kuang Hua VI-class missile boat (front) maneuver during a drill in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, 09 January 2025. EPA/RITCHIE B. TONGO
A Taiwan navy Tuo Chiang-class corvette(rear) and Kuang Hua VI-class missile boat (front) maneuver during a drill in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, 09 January 2025. EPA/RITCHIE B. TONGO

Taiwan on Thursday demonstrated its sea defenses against a potential Chinese attack as tensions rise with Beijing, part of a multitiered strategy to deter an invasion from the mainland.
The island’s navy highlighted its Kuang Hua VI fast attack missile boats and Tuo Chiang-class corvettes in waters near Taiwan’s largest port of Kaohsiung, a major hub for international trade considered key to resupplying Chinese forces should they establish a beachhead on the island.
The Kuang Hua VI boats, with a crew of 19, carry indigenously developed Hsiung Feng II anti-ship missiles and displayed their ability to take to the sea in an emergency to intercept enemy ships about to cross the 44-kilometer (24-nautical mile) limit of Taiwan’s contiguous zone, within which governments are permitted to take defensive action.
China routinely sends ships and planes to challenge Taiwan’s willingness and ability to counter intruders, prompting Taiwan to scramble jets, activate missile systems and dispatch warships. Taiwan demanded on Wednesday that China end its ongoing military activity in nearby waters, which it said is undermining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and disrupting international shipping and trade.
Mountainous Taiwan's strategy is to counter the much larger Chinese military with a relatively flexible defense that can prevent Chinese troops from crossing the strait. Landing sites are few on Taiwan's west coast facing China, forcing Beijing to focus on the east coast.
Hsiao Shun-ming, captain of a Tuo Chiang-class corvette, said his ship’s relatively small size still allows it to “deliver a formidable competitive power” against larger Chinese ships. The Tuo Chiang has a catamaran design and boasts high speeds and considerable stealth ability.
Taiwan has in recent years reinvigorated its domestic defense industry, although it still relies heavily on US technology such as upgraded fighter jets, missiles, tanks and detection equipment. US law requires it to consider threats to the island as matters of “grave concern,” and American and allied forces are expected to be a major factor in any conflict.
Thursday's exercise “demonstrates the effectiveness of asymmetric warfare, and Taiwan’s commitment to defense self-reliance,” said Chen Ming-feng, rear admiral and commander of the navy’s 192 Fleet specializing in mine detection. “We are always ready to respond quickly and can handle any kind of maritime situation.”
China's authoritarian one-party Communist government has refused almost all communication with Taiwan's pro-independence governments since 2016, and some in Washington and elsewhere say Beijing is growing closer to taking military action.
China considers Taiwan a part of its territory, to be brought under its control by force if necessary, while most Taiwanese favor their de facto independence and democratic status.