Blackburn, Cassidy, Tillis bill stipulates no nuke deal with Iran

U.S. Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), and Thom Tillis (R-NC) on May 24 introduced legislation that would prohibit the obligation or expenditure of any taxpayer dollars to advance a nuclear agreement with Iran until the country ends its ties with China and terrorist groups like Hamas. 

“The Biden administration should not re-enter a deal that legitimizes the Iranian regime — especially while they continue to fund terrorism, endorse Communist China’s dangerous government, and facilitate genocide,” Sen. Blackburn said. “This legislation will stop taxpayer dollars from enabling the Biden White House to back this corrupt regime.”

Sen. Blackburn sponsored the Iran China Accountability Act, S. 4290, with seven GOP cosponsors, including Sens. Cassidy and Tillis. The bill is companion legislation to the same-named H.R. 3465, which U.S. Rep. Bob Good (R-VA) sponsored in May 2021 in his chamber.

If enacted, the measure would require any nuclear agreement to be ratified by a two-thirds vote of the U.S. Senate, according to a bill summary provided by the senators.

“The administration should not be able to ram through another terrible Iran Nuclear Deal without Senate approval,” said Sen. Cassidy. “Iran needs to be accountable for their bad behavior not rewarded with a nuclear weapon.” 

The proposed bill also would prohibit the obligation or expenditure of any funds for a nuclear agreement until Iran terminates all agreements involving the transfer of funds from China, as well as strategic security and military partnerships with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP); terminates all ties and transfers of cash to Iranian proxy forces, including Hamas; verifies the destruction of all nuclear, missile, cyber and chemical weapons, materials, and infrastructure; and the CCP ceases the incarceration of Uyghurs, the summary says.

Additionally, the bill would require a report from the U.S. Secretary of State to Congress detailing how any future agreement with Iran meets each of these requirements, and condemns Hamas-incited terrorist attacks on Israel.

“We need to learn from the failures of the Iran nuclear deal. Any future agreements between the United States and Iran must ensure Tehran has ceased its support of terrorist groups and its financial reliance on the totalitarian Chinese Communist Party,” Sen. Tillis said. “The United States must continue to be a leader in defending human rights and preventing rogue regimes, like Iran, from developing nuclear weapons capability.”