Republicans in the House have prepared a dozen bills to slap new sanctions on Iran following its unprecedented attack on Israel.
House Republicans want penalties leveraged against Iran for its attack. On Saturday, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and a number of Iranian proxy groups fired over 300 drones, ballistic missiles, and cruise missiles at Israel, the first time Iran has launched a direct attack on the Jewish state from Iranian soil.
The White House is pressuring the Israeli government to forgo a military response to the attack, urging the Israeli war cabinet to avoid any action that could escalate attacks between Israel and Iran. The White House’s position has earned it criticism, largely from Republicans, who say that Israel should be free to respond as it sees fit and that Iran cannot go unpunished.
House Republicans have announced a dozen bills that would strengthen sanctions on the Iranian regime and cut off Iran from some international economic connections. Some of the legislation would take action against Iran’s terror proxies in the region, especially Hamas, according to Axios.
A couple of the bills would also push the European Union to designate the IRGC a terror group, and officially recognize the slogan “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” as antisemitic.
“While the White House teeters and displays weakness against our adversaries on the world stage, House Republicans are unwavering in our support of Israel,” House Majority Leader Steve Scalise said in a statement. “Last year, we passed a supplemental bill to aid Israel and support our ally – but the Senate refused to take it to the floor for a vote. This week, we’re bringing several measures to demonstrate our support of Israel and take action against Iran.”
“These bills … represent a comprehensive response to the Iranian threat by supporting Israel’s response to the attack and sanctioning Iran’s leaders, cutting off their revenue sources, and targeting their partners and terrorist proxies,” Scalise said.
House Speaker Mike Johnson said Sunday that House Republicans would once again try to push U.S. aid for Israel through Congress after the attack.
House Republicans “understand the necessity of standing with Israel,” he told Fox News host Maria Bartiromo. “We’re going to try again this week, and the details of that package are being put together.”
Democrats have pushed back saying that the House should instead pass a $95 billion foreign aid bill that includes funding for Israel and Ukraine that was passed by the Senate in February.
