Republicans Plan New Iran Sanctions After Vote on Nuclear Deal

Opponents of the Iran deal aren’t expecting the Congressional vote next month to go their way, but they are already planning for the day after their loss. Republicans in Congress are preparing several bills to sanction Iran. Even if those never reach a vote, the proposals could be problematic for Democrats well into 2016.

The White House has compared the Iran deal to Obamacare in terms of its historical impact. Republicans agree.

“The analogy to the Affordable Care act is ringing in my ears,” said Representative Mike Pompeo, one of several Iran deal critics developing new sanctions proposals. “The American people get who the Iranian regime is. The American people will reward elected officials who do the right thing.”

All the proposals seek to capitalize on the administration’s promise to keep up pressure on Iran for its non-nuclear mischief, including over its support for regional terrorism and its human rights record. And Pompeo says new sanctions have a chance of passing, even if Congress can't block Obama's deal.

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Mark Dubowitz, the executive director of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies and a leading critic of the deal, said that a debate over new sanctions legislation would send a signal to banks and companies all over the world.

“The new bills are going to seek to basically raise the risk of premature commercial and financial engagement with Iran,” he said. That could give the next president more flexibility to unwind the deal, as most Republican candidates have promised to do.

If the administration opposes sanctions over human rights and terrorism, Dubowitz said, it is essentially saying  “there would be no way to impose meaningful pressure on Iran.”

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