The U.S. Senate Has Included Iran In Lindsey Graham's Bill On Sanctions Against Russia
- 23.07.2026, 22:54
Senators hope to pass the “severe” sanctions before the August recess.
U.S. senators have included financial sanctions against Iran in a bipartisan package of sanctions against Russia, which they hope to pass before the August recess.
This was announced by Majority Leader John Thune, according to Politico.
“They were added at the final stage. I think everyone agreed to this, because we would have done it anyway. Sanctions against Iran have been in place for over 30 years,” Thune said.
Senators have been trying for several months to pass a bipartisan bill imposing sanctions on Russia and countries that purchase Russian oil, but these efforts gained new momentum following the death of Senator Lindsey Graham, who was one of the bill’s leading supporters.
Tun expressed confidence that the Senate would be able to pass the revised sanctions package before the August recess.
“I have been in talks with Democrats and colleagues from our party, and, in my view, we are getting closer to an agreement. Therefore, I hope we will be able to draft the bill. If we can also reach a temporary agreement on procedure to expedite its consideration in the Senate, that would be an added benefit,” the majority leader added.
The Graham-Blumenthal bill (Sanctioning Russia Act) is a bipartisan initiative by Republican Senator Lindsey Graham and Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal aimed at significantly increasing economic pressure on Russia and its trading partners. Following Graham’s death, his co-authors continue to advance the bill.
Key provisions of the bill:
the imposition of sanctions against the Russian leadership, state-owned banks, the energy sector, and the so-called “shadow fleet”;
granting the U.S. president the authority to impose secondary tariffs of up to 100% on countries that continue to purchase significant volumes of Russian oil, gas, and other energy resources. The initial version called for 500%, but following negotiations, the document was amended to a maximum of 100%;
the bill provides for the President to temporarily defer the application of certain sanctions or duties if this is in the national interest of the United States.