17 Republican Senators Introduce Bill to Sanction Khamenei and Raisi on Human Rights

While during the negotiations to revive the JCPOA, how to lift sanctions against the Leader of the Islamic Republic and his office has become a challenging issue, 17 US Republican senators have submitted a bill to the Senate to impose human rights sanctions against Ali Khamenei and Ebrahim Raisi.

Republican Senator Ted Cruz, who leads the supporters of the plan, has accused Khamenei of "corruption, violence, and stealing Iranian property" and named Ebrahim Raisi as "responsible for the massacre of thousands of Iranians," referring to the possibility of lifting sanctions against the Iranian leader.

He has said that these two individuals should be "targeted by severe sanctions" from the United States and has emphasized "maintaining necessary sanctions" against the Iranian government.

In recent weeks, reports have emerged that the Iranian government has asked the Biden administration to lift sanctions against the Leader of the Islamic Republic and his office as part of the lifting of sanctions that are set to be implemented to return Iran to the JCPOA.

On July 29, 2019, the Donald Trump administration imposed sanctions against Ayatollah Khamenei and his appointees in response to the downing of the country's drone over the Strait of Hormuz.

Donald Trump's executive order stated that these sanctions were imposed due to "malign actions by Iran and its proxies, particularly actions that destabilize the Middle East, support for international terrorism, development of a ballistic missile program, and Iran's irresponsible and provocative actions in international waters, including attacks on United States military assets and civilian vessels."

Ebrahim Raisi, the elected president of Iran, was also placed on the Trump administration's sanctions list in November 2019, when he was head of the judiciary.

Iran's insistence on lifting sanctions on the Islamic Republic's leader and his family has been cited as one of the reasons for the delay in reaching a nuclear agreement.

These sanctions are symbolic, given that the leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran does not travel abroad and does not do business with American companies. However, Tehran officials consider sanctions against the country's highest official to be insulting and insist on lifting the sanctions on the country's leader in order to reach an agreement.

Republican senators supporting the human rights sanctions bill against Khamenei and Ebrahim Raisi hope that with their new bill, the government will not be able to remove existing sanctions against the Leader of the Islamic Republic.

Source: Radio Farda