Bipartisan legislation reintroduced by U.S. Rep. Peter Roskam (R-IL) would take steps to crack down on the use of commercial aircraft to support international terrorism.
The Terror-Free Skies Act would require the president to report on Iran’s possible use of its national air carrier, Iran Air, to transport weapons, troops and military equipment on behalf of its Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps to support illicit military operations.
“I’m introducing the Terror-Free Skies Act because we’ve seen what happens when commercial aircraft are converted to weapons of war,” Roskam said. “We’re asking the intelligence community to provide a full accounting of Iran’s use of commercial airlines to support its global network of terror proxies, including the tyrant Bashar al-Assad in Syria, and hold these bad actors accountable for their war crimes.”
If the investigation were to conclude that Iran Air has been used to support the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps or foreign terrorist organizations, the airline would be added to the U.S. sanctions list and would be prohibited from receiving new aircraft or aircraft parts.
Roskam previously teamed up with U.S. Rep. Randy Hultgren (R-IL) and then-Rep. Robert Dold (R-IL) in a letter urging Boeing’s CEO not to empower the Iranian regime through commercial aircraft sales.
In June, however, Iranian officials announced plans to buy or lease 109 new Boeing aircraft, a deal that would total $25 billion if approved by the U.S. government.
Roskam previously authored two amendments that would block the sales of Boeing and Airbus aircraft to Iran. The House approved the amendments, which were included in the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act, with bipartisan support.