Reps. Brian Mast (R., Fla.) and Scott Perry (R., Pa.) introduced on Monday the Preventing Terror Sympathizers from Appeasing Terrorists Act, a bill that would block the White House from delisting the IRGC from the Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO) list without congressional approval.
The bill was designed to stop the Biden administration from delisting the IRGC as part of a package of concessions to Iran written into the new nuclear accord, which is nearing completion and likely to include a provision that waives key sanctions on the IRGC, potentially allowing Iranian terrorists to more easily enter the United States, as the Free Beacon first reported on Friday.
Sanctions on the IRGC—which were first imposed by the Trump administration as part of its “maximum pressure” campaign on Iran—remain one of the final sticking points in talks. Iran is pressing the Biden administration to nix this designation, even as the IRGC actively plots the assassination of top Trump administration officials and wages attacks on U.S. forces in the region. The administration’s bid to remove these sanctions is fueling opposition to the deal from both Democratic and Republican foreign policy leaders, who worry such a concession will embolden Iran’s global terrorism and spy operations. Carveouts in the deal that provide Russia with billions-of-dollars in revenue have also generated outrage among lawmakers.
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