Hagerty Joins Cruz, Colleagues in Introducing Bill to Sanction Iran Supreme Leader and President-Elect

WASHINGTON—United States Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and former U.S. Ambassador to Japan, joined Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) and 15 other GOP colleagues in introducing legislation to impose human rights sanctions on the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and the regime’s President-elect Ebrahim Raisi.

“I strongly support this legislation to impose new sanctions against Supreme Leader Khamenei, Ebrahim Raisi, and other Iranian leaders, and hold them accountable for the Iranian regime’s egregious human rights abuses and systemic corruption,” said Senator Hagerty. “It’s unconscionable that President Biden is giving Iran another round of sanctions relief as the Iranian regime continues to attack U.S. Government personnel and facilities in the Middle East and even as it was revealed that Iranian officials were plotting to abduct an American citizen in New York City.”

“The Biden administration has rushed to dismantle sanctions on the Iranian regime and is looking to remove what’s left of American pressure. They have publicly committed to revoking Trump-era sanctions, including sanctions against Ayatollah Khamenei and Iran’s President-elect. Khamenei uses corruption, violence, and confiscation to amass wealth stolen from the Iranian people. President-elect Raisi is responsible for the butchering of tens of thousands of innocent Iranians,” said Senator Cruz. “They should both be subject to the full force of American sanctions. I am proud to introduce this legislation to ensure we continue imposing critical sanctions to isolate the Iranian regime and block their malign activities.”

Read the full text of the bill here.