A new bill, which was introduced by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), will try and halt Ebrahim Raisi, the Iranian President, from being able to enter the U.S. as the soon to take place opening session of the United Nations General Assembly approaches.
As a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Cruz was backed this past Wednesday in his legislation by Sens. Tom Cotton (R-AR), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), Joni Ernst (R-IA), John Barrasso (R-WY), and Marco Rubio (R-FL).
“Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi would already be excluded from entering the United States for the U.N. General Assembly if President Biden and his administration were enforcing existing statutes in good faith,” explained Cruz in a released statement.
RELEASE: Sen. Cruz Introduces the SEVER Act to Ban Iranian President Raisi from Entering the United States pic.twitter.com/08bnGWXzkn
— Senator Ted Cruz (@SenTedCruz) September 15, 2022
“Raisi has a record of terrorist activities, including his advocacy for the assassination of President Trump and other U.S. officials. He is also listed by the State Department as ineligible for entering the United States because of mass atrocities he committed. Nevertheless, the Biden administration seems set on circumventing these restrictions,” he went on to add.
The senator out of Texas also highlighted that the bill, which has been labeled the SEVER Act (Strengthening Entry Visa Enforcement and Restrictions Act of 2022), would also apply a select group of other Iranians.
“The SEVER Act will deny entry to Raisi and the few dozen individuals who are hand-picked by the Ayatollah to repress the Iranian people and pose threats to American national security, to ensure they cannot get into the United States. It is well within the rights of the United States to deny them entry, and we absolutely should,” he expressed.
This legislation was introduced just as the Biden administration’s extended efforts to reinstate a 2015 nuclear deal with Iran seems to have completely stalled out. The agreement was put into place under former president Barack Obama. However, the effort was ended back in 2018 in the wake of then-President Donald Trump axing the program while highlighting the laundry list of repeated violations of the agreement.
In another piece of legislation, a bipartisan group of legislators is also seeking to solidify the sanctions from the U.S. against Iran in order to increase pressures against its government as it continues to develop nuclear weaponry.
The Solidify Iran Sanctions Act targets the energy needs of Iran to help stop terrorist operations or the development of missiles.
“From brutal abuses committed against its own people, to its never-ending threats towards free and democratic societies, the Iranian regime has proven time and again that they are a rogue state with no interest in preserving regional or global peace,” expressed Rep. Michelle Steel (R-CA) concerning the version of the bill in the House.