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WASHINGTON, Oct 25 (UPI) — Political advisers and members of nongovernmental organizations on Wednesday suggested members of Congress impose tough sanctions on Iran after Hamas’ stunning attack on Israel earlier this month.
The State Department says Iran has provided Hamas with up to $100 million a year. Witnesses at a hearing of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Wednesday said the militant organization would not have been able to carry out its Oct. 7 attack on Israel without Iran’s support.
“Without that investment over time, Hamas could be the competent organization it is today,” Matthew Levitt, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, told House members.
The hearing, through the Subcommittee on Homeland Security, Illicit Finance and International Financial Institutions, came more than two weeks after Hamas, an armed Palestinian militant group, launched a stunning attack on Israel on Oct. 7, killing more than 1,400 people.
After declaring war on Hamas, Israel launched airstrikes on Gaza in the days that followed. According to Gaza’s Hamas-ruled Health Ministry, at least 5,971 Palestinians have been killed in the war between Israel and Hamas.
Witnesses at Wednesday’s hearing made recommendations on tactics to restrict Iran’s influence in the Middle East, highlighting the importance of enforcing existing sanctions while calling for adjustments to current US policy toward Iran.
Although the États-Unis. Si the country has an arms ban and a near-total economic embargo against Iran, the two countries maintain industrial relations. According to the U. S. Census Bureau, U. S. exported $45. 5 million worth of goods to Iran in 2022. , while up $11. 2 million.
Richard Goldberg, a senior adviser at the Washington-based Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told lawmakers that Biden’s administration has a challenge with “non-sanctions” on Iran that he wants to change.
He called on members of Congress to pressure the leadership to impose more sanctions against Iran.
“Shut it down,” he said, Goldberg. Se can do because management probably wouldn’t. Tighten the screws on the application of oil sanctions. “
Levitt, however, said sanctions alone may not limit Iran’s action toward Hamas and other militant teams in the Middle East. He stressed the importance of the U. S. maintaining a credible military risk in the Middle East, which he said could simply be more effective than diplomatic or economic sanctions.
“Sanctions can solve the problem in the long run,” Levitt said. “They want to be part of a bigger toolbox. “
Members of the subcommittee also debated the effectiveness of President Joe Biden’s Iran policy, with House Republicans arguing that the administration’s efforts are strong enough.
Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer, R-Mo. , chairman of the subcommittee, criticized some of the Biden administration’s moves toward Iran, suggesting weak enforcement of oil sanctions.
Luetkemeyer also said the administration’s decision to give Iran access to $6 billion in frozen assets in exchange for the release of five U. S. prisoners was “naïve and irresponsible. “
Since Hamas’ attack on Israel earlier this month, several prominent Republicans, including former President Donald Trump, have warned that Biden’s leadership is complicit in the move.
In addition, Rep. Dan Meuser, R-Pa. , claimed that Biden’s administration has “affinity and affection” for the Iranian regime.
Congresswoman Joyce Beatty of Ohio, however, defended the president’s recent moves toward Iran, citing the Treasury Department’s efforts to financially damage Hamas and the Iranian regime’s new sanctions.
He said the ministry was running to save “bad actors” in Iran from illicit money-laundering activities.
“The Biden administration has tapped into a multilateral agreement for U. S. national security, overseeing the largest comprehensive sanctions package against Iran,” Beatty said.