WASHINGTON — Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., the ranking member of the Senate Banking Committee and candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, along with a group of Republican senators, is introducing a bill that would freeze $6 billion of Iranian assets, his office told American Banker.
The bill would revoke Treasury and State General Licenses provided to the funds, which Scott's office said are housed in Qatar, and would direct Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to study all high-value Iranian assets throughout the world that are currently blocked by U.S. sanctions, and to report their findings back to Congress.
Scott's bill is co-sponsored by Republican Sens. Mike Crapo of Idaho, Tom Cotton of Arkansas, Kevin Cramer of North Dakota, Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming, Bill Hagerty of Tennessee, J.D. Vance of Ohio and Katie Britt of Alabama.
The bill follows a similar one from Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Cotton, which would have immediately frozen the $6 billion in Iranian funds earmarked for Tehran to purchase humanitarian aid, held in South Korean banks where it accumulated as Seoul purchased Iranian oil under an agreement with the Trump administration. Tehran had complained that those banks were afraid of being caught in U.S. sanctions, which made it difficult for the country to get the money. In exchange for Iran's release of jailed Americans and the release of some Iranian prisoners, the money was shifted into banks in Qatar.
That deal from the Biden administration with Tehran came under scrutiny after Hamas launched its attack on Israel Oct. 7. Critics of the Biden administration have sought to draw a connection between the funds and the Hamas attacks.
"The Biden administration's decision to release $6 billion to Iran — the world's leading state sponsor of terror — was a grave mistake that created a market for American hostages, emboldened our adversaries, and put a credit on the balance sheets of one of Hamas's biggest backers," Scott said in a statement. "In the wake of Hamas's horrific attacks on Israel, it has only become clearer that this rogue regime cannot be trusted as long they continue to support terrorist organizations."
Biden administration officials have refuted claims that the money freed up resources for Iran to support the Hamas attacks. Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo reportedly told House Democrats last week that the Qatari government has agreed to stop Iran from accessing the funds in light of the Hamas attacks.
Although the idea behind the bill has bipartisan support, the issue will still likely be resolved through executive action, rather than through an act of Congress. Senate Banking Committee Chairman Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, led a bipartisan group of lawmakers last week — including Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis. and James Lankford R-Okla., — in urging Secretary of State Anthony Blinken to use his power to freeze the $6 billion in Iranian assets.
