US Lawmakers Introduce Bill To Ban Entry Of Sanctioned Iran Officials

US lawmakers have introduced a bipartisan bill to deny entry to sanctioned individuals attending UN meetings, following the visit of Iran's president in September.

Representatives Joe Wilson and Jared Moskowitz, members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, sponsored the bill. If enacted into law, it would prevent Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi from attending the next UN General Assembly in New York.

Announcing the bill, Rep. Wilson stated, "Mass murderer and terrorist Ebrahim Raisi hates the United States, pledges death to America, yet applies for and is granted permission to travel to New York annually for the United Nations. This hypocrisy is unacceptable."

Iranian activists have long called for such measures, particularly opposing Raisi's presence in New York due to his involvement in the infamous 'Death Committee' responsible for the summary execution of up to five thousand Iranian political prisoners in 1988.

"[This bill] ensures that the oppressors of freedom in Iran do not get to visit the United States to enjoy the liberties here that they deprive their citizens of at home in Iran," Rep. Wilson added in a statement introducing the bill.

Rep. Moskowitz, cosponsoring the bill, questioned on X (formerly Twitter): "The United Nations is meant to be a forum for peace & stability. Why would we give the Iranian regime and other malign actors a platform, given their kidnapping of Americans and support for global terrorism?"

This year's UN General Assembly coincided with a deal to release US hostages in Iran between the United States and the Islamic Republic. Five Iranian-American prisoners were allowed to leave Iran in exchange for the release of $6 billion in frozen Iranian oil revenues from South Korea. The Biden administration faced criticism for this deal, with concerns that it might embolden the Islamic Republic to take more hostages. Additionally, the Biden administration agreed to the release of $2.7 billion from Iraq.

The new bill, named the 'No Paydays for Hostage-Takers Act,' includes extensive sections on Iran's frozen assets and the $6 billion release. It requires the US President to submit an itemized list of all transactions involving the use of these funds, including details of parties involved, financial institutions, goods purchased, destinations, end users, notification dates, and transaction dates.

The bill also mandates the US President to review all cases of hostage-taking by the Iranian regime every six months, determining whether those responsible meet the criteria for sanctions under the Levinson Act.

The bill's namesake, Robert Levinson, was a former DEA and FBI agent who disappeared in Iran in 2007. He was declared dead in custody in 2020 despite efforts by his family to secure his release.

Rep. Moskowitz expressed his commitment to the bill, emphasizing Levinson's case as a constituent matter: "When Iran wrongfully detains one of our own, they must know that the U.S. will not sit back; we will take action and respond."

Additionally, the bill requires the Secretary of State to assess whether US travel to Iran poses "an imminent danger to the public health or physical safety of US travelers" and whether to invalidate US passports for travel to Iran. The US Secretary of State has the authority to restrict American travel to foreign countries, as demonstrated in the case of North Korea in 2017 following the torture and death of Otto Warmbier.