U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., spoke out on Friday to address legislation he and 15 other senators filed last week to level new sanctions against Iran.
The Iran Terrorism and Human Rights Sanctions Act of 2016 targets the Middle Eastern country for what Isakson’s office called “multiple abuses involving terrorism and human rights.” The senator added that he felt President Barack Obama’s administration was doing enough to deal with Iran.
“For too long, this administration has chosen to look the other way when it comes to Iran,” Isakson, a member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, said in a statement. “It is long past time we truly hold Iran accountable, and these sanctions are one way to do just that.”
The bill would put bans on Iran’s ability to directly and indirectly access America’s financial system into law, toughen the requirements that a country on a list of nations who sponsor terrorism must meet before they can be removed from the list, and put new sanctions on Iran for “its egregious human rights abuses.”
New sanctions would also be placed on the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Iran-based Mahan Air, which was accused by Isakson’s office of helping the corps “spread terrorism and militancy.”
The other sponsors of the bill include Isakson’s Republican Senate colleague from Georgia, Sen. David Perdue, R-Ga., as well as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Majority Whip John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Sens. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., Dan Coats, R-Ind., Tom Cotton, R-Ark., Ted Cruz, R-Texas, Cory Gardner, R-Colo., Jerry Moran, R-Kan., Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, Rob Portman, R-Ohio, Pat Roberts, R-Kan., Marco Rubio, R-Fla., Ben Sasse, R-Neb.