Iranian regime that provides funding, arms, and technology to Hamas has recently experienced large revenue windfall because of lax sanctions enforcement by the Biden Administration
WASHINGTON—United States Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and former U.S. Ambassador to Japan, today in a hearing questioned former Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, President Joe Biden’s nominee to be U.S. Ambassador to Israel, on the Biden Administration’s refusal to enforce sanctions on Iran, which
has enabled the Iranian regime to earn as much as $80 billion in illicit oil revenue since the start of the Biden Administration. The Iranian regime, the largest state-sponsor of terrorism, funnels its revenue, arms, and technology to its terrorist proxies like Hamas to attack Israel.
“Is the security of Israel better or worse if Iran has more funds or less funds?” Hagerty asked.
Lew attempted to ignore the negative effects of the Biden Administration’s reduction in sanctions enforcement that has provided the terrorist-funding Iranian regime with more funds by claiming Iran has “been bad actors when they’ve had a lot of oil revenue [and] when they’ve had less oil revenue.”
Hagerty pointed out that in 2020, as a result of the Trump Administration’s “Maximum Pressure Campaign”, Iran’s oil export revenue declined dramatically, and it was reported that terrorist sponsored groups like Hamas and Hezbollah were essentially broke. Then, when Biden took office, the Administration’s refusal to enforce sanctions began to generate a dramatic increase in revenue for the Iranian regime that has empowered its terrorist proxies, resulting almost immediately in attacks from Hamas on Israel.
“[After Biden took office] we had the violence from Gaza into Israel—the 11-day war—we’ve seen what’s happened now [with Hamas’s savage terrorism in Israel]. So…what’s changed [after 2020’s low-point in Iran oil revenue]?” Hagerty asked.
“I think it’s very obvious what’s changed: Joe Biden was inaugurated in 2021, the ‘Maximum Pressure Campaign’ was abandoned, and now a policy of appeasement has been undertaken with Iran. That’s what’s allowed them to enrich themselves,” Hagerty concluded.
###