The U.S. House of Representatives approved a bill to sanction Russia and Iran and sent it to the White House for President Trump’s signature

🔸The U.S. House of Representatives approved a broad package to intensify sanctions on Russia and to extend for five years the Iran Sanctions Act, and sent it to the White House for U.S. President Donald Trump to sign.

🔸On Wednesday, September 25, with 262 votes in favor versus 159 against, lawmakers approved the Senate amendments to the bill.

🔸Thus, with acceptance of the Senate text without changes, the process of reviewing this bill in Congress has ended, and for it to become law, only the signature of the president is needed.

🔸The bill is titled “Russia and Iran Sanctions Act of 2026,” named after Lindsey Graham, the Republican senator who was one of the main sponsors of the bill and who died earlier this year in June.

🔸The House bill provides for sanctions against a number of officials, banks, and entities in Russia, as well as foreign individuals and companies that support this country’s defense sector. It also targets a network of oil tankers known as Russia’s “shadow fleet,” which is used to evade oil sanctions.

🔸Another part of the bill gives the U.S. president authority to impose tariffs—up to a maximum of 100%—on goods imported from the largest purchasers of Russian oil and gas. This authority covers the five largest buyers of Russian crude oil, the five largest gas importers from this country, and the five countries that play the biggest role in facilitating the evasion of Russia’s oil sanctions.

🔸Regarding Iran, this bill extends the “Iran Sanctions Act” passed in 1996, which was due to expire at the end of this calendar year, until 2031.

🔸This law is one of the foundations of U.S. sanctions against Iran’s energy sector, and it enables sanctions to be imposed on foreign companies and individuals involved in certain investments and transactions related to Iran’s oil and gas industry.

🔸The bill had been stuck in Congress for more than a year. Since the beginning of his second term, Donald Trump generally preferred keeping control of tariffs and sanctions, as one of the tools of his administration’s foreign policy, in the White House, and until July this year he had not agreed to start the voting process in Congress.

🔸Ultimately, on August 6, the White House supported the text of the bill in a statement and said that the five-year extension of the Iran sanctions law is also supported by the administration, and that if this text is presented to the president, his advisors would recommend signing it.

🔸Read the full report on the Radio Farda website.