“That’s just charging the individuals involved,” Kirk said in a Tuesday afternoon interview, emphasizing that the Iranian government should be held responsible for the plot directly. “What the administration should do is prepare to move against Bank Markazi [Iran’s Central Bank] in response to the bomb plot.”

Kirk took to the floor of the Senate on Tuesday to call on the Federal Reserve and the EU Central Bank to ban all transactions with Iran’s central bank, which Kirk said would have the effect of crippling the value of Iran’s currency.

“Their currency would become like North Korea’s currency,” Kirk said, arguing that the move would constitute a proportional and appropriate response to the Iranian government’s involvement in the plot.