More than 60 House Democrats joined several dozen Republicans to call on President Joe Biden’s administration to take a stronger stance on Iran amid the Israel-Hamas conflict.
A letter from the lawmakers, dated Oct. 17, stated that “Iran must be held fully accountable for its continued role in funding Hamas and Islamic terror” and that the lawmakers “urge the administration to take all necessary steps to cut off Iranian funding sources.”
The issuance of the letter was led by Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.), Don Bacon (R-Neb.), Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.), and Claudia Tenney (R-N.Y.), according to Mr. Gottheimer’s office. Sixty-three Democrats and 50 Republicans signed onto it.
Punishment “includes maximum enforcement of all U.S. sanctions, and taking any and all steps to end Iran’s oil trade to China, which currently brings in $150 million per day in revenue,” it said, adding that United Nations sanctions on Iran regarding its ballistic missile program are slated to end, which “cannot be allowed to happen.”
The 110 or so House lawmakers also said the president should work with Europe to “immediately implement snapback sanctions” on Iran at a UN Security Council meeting.
“We urge your administration to work with our European allies to immediately implement snapback sanctions on Iran at the UN Security Council. The United States must also put significant pressure on Qatar and [Turkey] to cease their support for Hamas and expel Hamas leadership that they host,” the 113 bipartisan members of Congress wrote in a letter to President Biden. “Both Qatar and [Turkey] should cease all ties with Hamas, and continue to work with the United States to stabilize the region.”
The push comes as the Senate has similarly pushed for bipartisan, stanch support for Israel amid the conflict. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) traveled with a bipartisan delegation, including Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), to Israel before returning Monday and then promised to pass a military aid package.
“This package must move quickly, a package of military aid, the necessities that Israel needs,” Mr. Schumer said on the floor of the upper chamber Monday. “We talked to the leadership of Israel about what they need, and it will be in this package.”
In response to the outbreak of violence, President Biden responded by reiterating his support for Israel and said it has the right to fight back against Hamas, a State Department-designated terrorist organization that has long received backing from Iran. He also has attempted to strike a fine line between supporting Israel and addressing the humanitarian situation for the millions who live in Gaza amid heavy bombing and an anticipated ground invasion.
The Treasury Department also released a statement, noting the nearly 1,000 sanctions the agency had already imposed on Iranian officials or Iran proxies such as Hezbollah or Hamas.
“We will continue to take action as appropriate to counter Iran’s destabilizing activity in the region and around the world,” the statement said.
Meanwhile, U.S. officials have not publicly said that Iran assisted Hamas in the multi-pronged attack on southern Israel last week. Iranian officials, too, have not said whether the country was involved, but top leaders, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, have praised Hamas for the assault.
Ahmed Abdulhadi, Hamas’s representative in Lebanon, told Newsweek that his group collaborated with Hezbollah and Iran ““before, during, and after this battle at the highest level,” without elaborating.
It comes as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that his country’s retaliation against Hamas aims to eradicate the group’s political and military rule over Gaza.
“We are not fighting just our war. We’re fighting the war of all civilized countries and all civilized peoples,” the prime minister said.
Israel has massed troops at the border for an expected ground offensive, but officials said Tuesday no concrete decisions have been made despite Israel’s mass evacuation order for the north of the Gaza Strip.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who visited Israel for the second time in a week on Monday after a six-country tour through Arab nations, said in Tel Aviv that the United States and Israel had agreed to develop a plan to enable humanitarian aid to reach civilians in Gaza. There were few details, but the plan would include “the possibility of creating areas to help keep civilians out of harm’s way.”
Gen. Erik Kurilla, the head of U.S. Central Command, arrived in Tel Aviv for meetings with Israeli military authorities ahead of a President Biden’s visit planned for Wednesday to signal White House support for Israel. President Biden will also travel to Jordan to meet with Arab leaders amid fears the fighting could spread in the region.
The Epoch Times contacted the White House on Tuesday about the letter.
