Quick, robust enforcement by the U.S. Treasury Department is crucial for the Trump administration’s so-called maximum pressure strategy to succeed against terrorist-financiers like Iran, according to U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) and more than a dozen Republican Senate colleagues.
The senators said such action will drain the Iranian regime’s resources and signal America’s commitment to maintaining ongoing sanctions.
“We write to express our support and appreciation for the Treasury Department’s efforts to impose maximum pressure on the Iranian regime,” the lawmakers wrote in an Aug. 22 letter sent to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. “We understand that Iran’s leaders are working with American adversaries, and reportedly even with some allies, to circumvent these sanctions.”
The senators assured Mnuchin that they would help provide the department with whatever resources it needed to enforce the sanctions.
Fifteen senators joined Sen. Wicker in signing the letter, which was led by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), including U.S. Sens. Steve Daines (R-MT), Cory Gardner (R-CO), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Todd Young (R-IN), and Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS).
Specifically, the lawmakers requested Secretary Mnuchin take any necessary steps to guarantee the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT), an international banking messaging system that connects financial institutions around the world, disconnects the Central Bank of Iran and all other designated Iranian financial institutions.
“The administration’s maximum pressure campaign will not succeed if the Islamic Republic remains connected to SWIFT,” the senators wrote.
Sen. Wicker added that “President Trump was right to withdraw from the failed Iran nuclear deal and the Administration should now go further to maximize pressure on Tehran.”
He said “blocking Iran’s access to financial services would encourage the regime to abandon its nuclear programs, support of terrorism and threats to Israel and regional security.”
“Iran is an unapologetic sponsor of global terrorism, and cutting off Iran’s ability to finance those activities is necessary,” said Sen. Wicker’s home-state colleague Sen. Hyde-Smith. “President Trump and Secretary Mnuchin should absolutely keep working to stop Iran from advancing any further as a bad actor on the world stage.”