The United States began sanctions against Iran following the attack on Israel on Saturday, April 13. First, it was Congress, where the House of Representatives pushed the Mahsa Amini Human Rights and Security Accountability Act (MAHSA Act), and then it was the Biden administration's turn, which announced a plan on Tuesday to damage the military capabilities of the theocratic regime.
Jack Sullivan, national security adviser to President Joe Biden, delivered the news in a statement announcing the new sanctions, albeit without providing many details about their implementation.
The official spoke of a "comprehensive plan" that Biden coordinated with G-7 members (Italy, France, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Canada) to target Iran's "missile and unmanned aerial vehicle program" and entities supporting the country's military groups. He also emphasized that this is a plan of "constant pressure to contain and degrade Iran's military capability and effectiveness and to address the full range of its problematic behaviors."
The letter also mentioned the work of the Department of Defense and the U.S. Central Command to "further strengthen and expand the successful integration of early warning and air and missile defense systems throughout the Middle East," with the aim of "further eroding the effectiveness of Iran's missile and unmanned aerial vehicle capabilities."
"The pressure will continue. We will not hesitate to continue to take action, in coordination with allies and partners around the world, and with Congress, to hold the Iranian government accountable for its malicious and destabilizing actions," Sullivan concluded.
Congress moves forward with the MAHSA Act
Meanwhile, the House of Representatives and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved three bills to penalize Iran for human rights violations, including killings like that of the young Mahsa Amini, which will now move to the Senate for final approval.
Two of the bills are directed directly against Ali Khamenei and the cabinet of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, whom they accuse of committing "human rights abuses" and supporting terrorism.
Meanwhile, the third, perhaps the most in line with the aforementioned White House initiative, is aimed at the armament production of the Islamic regime and the export of missiles or drones.
