Iranian Arms Transfer Prevention Act of 2021

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 857 To impose sanctions on certain persons contributing to the proliferation of arms of Iran, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 5, 2021 Mr. BACON (for himself and Mr. WILSON of South Carolina) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee con- cerned A BILL To impose sanctions on certain persons contributing to the proliferation of arms of Iran, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This act may be cited as the ‘‘Iranian Arms Transfer 4 Prevention Act of 2021’’. 5 SEC. 2. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 6 It is the policy of the United States to counter Iran’s 7 malign influence in the Middle East, including transfers 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:06 Feb 25, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H857.IH H857 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 857 IH from Iran of destabilizing conventional weapons and ac- 1 quisition of arms and related materiel by Iran. 2 SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 3 Congress finds the following: 4 (1) Transfers to and from Iran of arms or re- 5 lated materiel or military equipment represent a con- 6 tinuing threat to regional and international security, 7 as evidenced by Iran’s continued military support 8 that fuels ongoing conflict in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, 9 and Yemen. 10 (2) Iran benefits from engaging in the conven- 11 tional arms trade by strengthening its relationships 12 with other outlier regimes, lessening its international 13 isolation, and deriving revenue that it uses to sup- 14 port terror groups and fund malign activities. 15 (3) Chinese and Russian arms transfers to Iran 16 are a threat to the national security of the United 17 States and to its allies and partners in the region, 18 including Israel, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab 19 Emirates, and others. 20 (4) The arms embargo imposed on Iran by the 21 United Nations Security Council found in United 22 National Security Council Resolutions 1747 and 23 1929 was terminated by the Joint Comprehensive 24 Plan of Action (JCPOA), otherwise known as the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:06 Feb 25, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H857.IH H857 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 857 IH Iran nuclear deal, which ended the long-standing 1 prohibition on arms transfers to and from Iran in 2 October 2020 as part of UN Security Council Reso- 3 lution 2231. 4 (5) In response to the expiration of the United 5 Nations arms embargo, the United States imposed 6 sanctions on international arms transfers to and 7 from Iran in Executive Order 13949 (85 Fed. Reg. 8 60043) issued on September 21, 2020. 9 SEC. 4. REPORT ON LIST OF ENTITIES INVOLVED IN ARMS 10 TRANSFERS TO IRAN. 11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after the 12 enactment of this Act, and every 180 days thereafter, the 13 Secretary of the State, in consultation with the Secretary 14 of Treasury, shall submit to the appropriate congressional 15 committees a report that includes a list of each individual 16 and entity the Secretary determines is knowingly engaged 17 in— 18 (1) any activity that materially contributes to 19 the supply, sale, or transfer, directly or indirectly, to 20 or from Iran or for the use in or benefit of Iran, of 21 arms or related materiel, including spare parts; or 22 (2) any activity that materially contributes to, 23 or poses a risk of materially contributing to, the pro- 24 liferation of arms or related materiel or items in- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:06 Feb 25, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H857.IH H857 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 857 IH tended for military end-uses or military end-users, 1 including any efforts to manufacture, acquire, pos- 2 sess, develop, transport, transfer, or use such items, 3 by— 4 (A) the Government of Iran (including per- 5 sons owned or controlled by, or acting for or on 6 behalf of the Government of Iran); or 7 (B) paramilitary organizations financially 8 or militarily supported by the Government of 9 Iran. 10 (b) FORM.—Each report required by paragraph (1) 11 shall be submitted in unclassified form but may include 12 a classified annex. 13 (c) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES DE- 14 FINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘appropriate congres- 15 sional committees’’ means— 16 (1) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the 17 Committee on Financial Services of the House of 18 Representatives; and 19 (2) the Committee on Foreign Relations and 20 the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Af- 21 fairs of the Senate. 22 SEC. 5. SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO LISTED PERSONS. 23 (a) IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:06 Feb 25, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H857.IH H857 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 857 IH (1) IN GENERAL.—Beginning on the date that 1 is 60 days after the date of the enactment of this 2 Act, the President shall impose the sanctions de- 3 scribed in subsection (b) with respect to— 4 (A) each foreign person listed in the most 5 recent report submitted in accordance with sec- 6 tion 4, except as provided in subsection (d); and 7 (B) each foreign person the President de- 8 termines, on or after such date of enactment, 9 engages in an activity described in paragraph 10 (2). 11 (2) ACTIVITY DESCRIBED.—An activity de- 12 scribed in this paragraph is any of the following, 13 with respect to a foreign person: 14 (A) Any activity that materially contrib- 15 utes to the supply, sale, or transfer, directly or 16 indirectly, to or from Iran, or for the use in or 17 benefit of Iran, of arms or related materiel, in- 18 cluding spare parts. 19 (B) The provision to the Government of 20 Iran any technical training, financial resources 21 or services, advice, other services, or assistance 22 related to the supply, sale, transfer, manufac- 23 ture, maintenance, or use of arms and related 24 materiel described in subparagraph (A). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:06 Feb 25, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H857.IH H857 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 857 IH (C) Any activity that materially contributes 1 to, or poses a risk of materially contributing to, 2 the proliferation of arms or related materiel or 3 items intended for military end-uses or military 4 end-users, including any efforts to manufacture, 5 acquire, possess, develop, transport, transfer, or 6 use such items, by the Government of Iran (in- 7 cluding persons owned or controlled by, or act- 8 ing for or on behalf of the Government of Iran) 9 or paramilitary organizations financially or mili- 10 tarily supported by the Government of Iran. 11 (D) Materially assisting, sponsoring, or 12 providing financial, material, or technological 13 support for, or goods or services to or in sup- 14 port of, any person whose property and inter- 15 ests in property are blocked pursuant to this 16 Act. 17 (E) Making any contribution or provision 18 of funds, goods, or services by, to, or for the 19 benefit of any person whose property and inter- 20 ests in property are blocked pursuant to this 21 Act. 22 (F) Receiving any contribution or provision 23 of funds, goods, or services from any such per- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:06 Feb 25, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H857.IH H857 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 857 IH son whose property and interests in property 1 are blocked pursuant to this Act. 2 (G) Being owned or controlled by, or act- 3 ing or purporting to act for or on behalf of, di- 4 rectly or indirectly, any person whose property 5 and interests in property are blocked pursuant 6 to this Act. 7 (b) SANCTIONS DESCRIBED.— 8 (1) IN GENERAL.—The sanctions described in 9 this subsection are the following: 10 (A) BLOCKING OF PROPERTY.—The Presi- 11 dent shall exercise all of the powers granted to 12 the President under the International Emer- 13 gency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et 14 seq.) to the extent necessary to block and pro- 15 hibit all transactions in property and interests 16 in property of the foreign person if such prop- 17 erty and interests in property are in the United 18 States, come within the United States, or are or 19 come within the possession or control of a 20 United States person. 21 (B) ALIENS INELIGIBLE FOR VISAS, AD- 22 MISSION, OR PAROLE.— 23 (i) VISAS, ADMISSION, OR PAROLE.— 24 An alien who the Secretary of State or the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:06 Feb 25, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H857.IH H857 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 857 IH Secretary of Homeland Security (or a des- 1 ignee of one of such Secretaries) knows, or 2 has reason to believe, has knowingly en- 3 gaged in any activity described in sub- 4 section (a)(2) is— 5 (I) inadmissible to the United 6 States; 7 (II) ineligible to receive a visa or 8 other documentation to enter the 9 United States; and 10 (III) otherwise ineligible to be 11 admitted or paroled into the United 12 States or to receive any other benefit 13 under the Immigration and Nation- 14 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.). 15 (ii) CURRENT VISAS REVOKED.— 16 (I) IN GENERAL.—The issuing 17 consular officer, the Secretary of 18 State, or the Secretary of Homeland 19 Security (or a designee of one of such 20 Secretaries) shall, in accordance with 21 section 221(i) of the Immigration and 22 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1201(i)), 23 revoke any visa or other entry docu- 24 mentation issued to an alien described 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:06 Feb 25, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H857.IH H857 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 857 IH in clause (i) regardless of when the 1 visa or other entry documentation is 2 issued. 3 (II) EFFECT OF REVOCATION.— 4 A revocation under subclause (I) shall 5 take effect immediately and shall 6 automatically cancel any other valid 7 visa or entry documentation that is in 8 the alien’s possession. 9 (2) EXCEPTIONS.— 10 (A) UN HEADQUARTERS AGREEMENT.— 11 Sanctions under paragraph (1)(B) shall not 12 apply with respect to an alien if admitting or 13 paroling the alien into the United States is nec- 14 essary to permit the United States to comply 15 with the Agreement regarding the Head- 16 quarters of the United Nations, signed at Lake 17 Success June 26, 1947, and entered into force 18 November 21, 1947, between the United Na- 19 tions and the United States, or other applicable 20 international obligations. 21 (B) PRIOR TRANSFER DIRECTIVE.—Sanc- 22 tions under paragraph (1)(B) shall not apply 23 with respect to property and interests in prop- 24 erty of the Government of Iran that were 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:06 Feb 25, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H857.IH H857 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 857 IH blocked pursuant to Executive Order 12170 of 1 November 14, 1979 (Blocking Iranian Govern- 2 ment Property), and thereafter made subject to 3 the transfer directives set forth in Executive 4 Order 12281 of January 19, 1981 (Direction to 5 Transfer Certain Iranian Government Assets), 6 and any implementing regulations with respect 7 to such Executive Order 12281. 8 (C) HUMANITARIAN EXCEPTION.—Sanc- 9 tions under paragraph (1)(B) shall not apply 10 with respect to any person for conducting or fa- 11 cilitating a transaction for the provision (includ- 12 ing any sale) of agricultural commodities, food, 13 medicine, or medical devices to Iran. 14 (c) PENALTIES.—The penalties provided for in sub- 15 sections (b) and (c) of section 206 of the International 16 Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1705) shall 17 apply to a person that violates, attempts to violate, con- 18 spires to violate, or causes a violation of regulations pro- 19 mulgated to carry out this section or the sanctions im- 20 posed pursuant to this section to the same extent that 21 such penalties apply to a person that commits an unlawful 22 act described in section 206(a) of that Act. 23 (d) TERMINATION.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:06 Feb 25, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H857.IH H857 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 857 IH (1) IN GENERAL.—Sanctions may be termi- 1 nated or may be waived with respect to a foreign 2 person described in subsection (a)(1)(A) if the Presi- 3 dent certifies to the appropriate congressional com- 4 mittees, subsequent to the submission of the applica- 5 ble list pursuant to section 4(a), that the person is 6 no longer engaged in activities described in para- 7 graph (1) of such section. 8 (2) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT- 9 TEES.—In this subsection, the term ‘‘appropriate 10 congressional committees’’ means— 11 (A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and 12 the Committee on Financial Services of the 13 House of Representatives; and 14 (B) the Committee on Foreign Relations 15 and the Committee on Banking, Housing, and 16 Urban Affairs of the Senate. 17 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:06 Feb 25, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H857.IH H857 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS