US Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Jim Risch (R-ID) are accusing President Joe Biden of ignoring the law by failing to impose sanctions on illicit purchasers of Iranian oil.
The Senators allege that President Biden has not imposed new sanctions despite being required to do so by the Stop Harboring Iranian Petroleum (SHIP) Act.
The SHIP Act was introduced in the House by Rep. Moskowitz and Representative Mike Lawler (R-NY), while Sen. Rubio introduced the Senate version with Senators Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH).
Specifically, the SHIP Act requires Biden to impose sanctions on any entities or persons commercially transporting or handling Iranian oil exports.
However, despite Iran’s expanded oil exports, no entities have been subsequently sanctioned by Biden’s administration.
Thus, Rubio and Risch released a joint statement pressuring Biden to fulfill his obligations under the SHIP Act.
“While Iran continues to fuel terror from the sales of illicit oil, which mostly benefit Beijing, the Biden-Harris Administration has failed to fully implement the Stop Harboring Iranian Petroleum (SHIP) Act,” reads the statement. “On October 7, 2023, the world witnessed Tehran’s evil nature and the U.S. must do everything in our power to cripple Iran’s vital sources of revenue.”
Biden has been broadly criticized for enabling a historical surge in Iran’s oil sales.
According to the US’ Energy Information Administration (EIA), Iran’s oil revenue increased by about 1 million barrels per day from 2020 to 2023 as its exports to China grew by almost 870 million barrels per day during this time.
The Senators previously sent a letter to Biden demanding he impose legally required sanctions on Iran, which Biden subsequently failed to do.
““We urge you to follow the law and promptly make sanctions determinations, impose appropriate sanctions, and report to Congress what determinations have been made and which sanctions have been imposed,” read the letter. “No amount of appeasement to the Iranian regime will quell its unacceptable conduct.”
