Bipartisan bill seeks to recast US strategy on Iran by prioritizing dissidents

A new bipartisan bill in the US is pushing for measures to empower Iranians to help overthrow the government in favour of a democratic alternative including facilitating greater internet access and funding for dissidents.

The Maximum Support Act, introduced by Reps. Joe Wilson (R-SC) and Jimmy Panetta (D-CA), would require the administration to develop an aggressive interagency strategy aimed at backing Iranian dissidents who would be pivotal in the process.

The legislation outlines a broad suite of initiatives including facilitating secure communications for activists, appointing a special representative for coordinating support efforts, and forming multi-agency teams to counter online censorship and regime surveillance.

It also calls for offering safe channels for defection by Iranian officials and utilizing information shared by defectors.

“The Iranian regime will fall sooner rather than later,” Wilson said.

“As the fall of Assad in 12 days illustrated, these regimes are a lot weaker than they think they are. I’m grateful to introduce this bipartisan bill which will provide maximum support to the Iranian people in their struggle for democracy and human rights.”

Panetta highlighted the importance of focusing on broader Internet access to empower the Iranian public as the government uses crackdowns and censorship as a form of suppression.

“The Maximum Support Act counters these abuses by bolstering internet freedom, seizing regime assets to aid pro-democracy efforts, and supporting those resisting oppression," he said.

One element involves redirecting seized Iranian assets under US jurisdiction to fund civil society actors inside Iran — including strikers and injured protesters — under what the bill describes as strict vetting and oversight.

The bill urges the administration to evaluate whether Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence (MOIS) could be designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization.

The US State Department has said of the organization, "MOIS has a history of wrongfully detaining US nationals and has been designated across various sanctions programs."

Just last month, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), in coordination with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), imposed sanctions on three Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) officials who were involved in the abduction, detention, and probable death of former FBI Special Agent Robert A. “Bob” Levinson.

"Reza Amiri Moghadam, Gholamhossein Mohammadnia, and Taqi Daneshvar, all played a role in Mr. Levinson’s abduction, probable death, and Iran’s efforts to cover up or obfuscate their responsibility," the statement said.

"This action follows the December 2020 OFAC designations of two Iranian MOIS officers, Mohammad Baseri and Ahmad Khazai, who acted in their capacity as MOIS officers in Mr. Levinson’s abduction, detention, and probable death."

The latest bill has drawn support from advocacy groups. “It’s high time Washington develops a policy that levels the contest between the most anti-American state and the most pro-American street in the region,” Behnam Ben Taleblu, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said.

“Maximum support for the Iranian people is a perfect complement to maximum pressure, and an increasingly necessary element of the equation with respect to Iran, deal or no deal.”

Andrew Ghalili, senior policy analyst at the National Union for Democracy in Iran, called the measure “the strongest bill ever introduced in support of the Iranian people,” describing it as “exactly the kind of decisive action the US should take to align itself with the Iranian people’s vision for a free Iran.”

The initiative is part of a broader legislative push by the Republican Study Committee. The package includes bills expanding sanctions, limiting waivers for Iranian oil exports, and targeting Iran-backed militias across the region.

Sponsors say this approach combines pressure on Iran’s leadership with tangible backing for its opponents at home.