US House Approves Bipartisan Sanctions Package Targeting Russia and Iran

The US House of Representatives has passed a bipartisan package that will impose new sanctions on Russia and lock in punitive economic measures against Iran for the next five years, with the legislation now heading to President Donald Trump's desk.

Named in honour of the late Senator Lindsey Graham, a staunch Russia critic and Iran hawk, the bill passed the lower chamber 262-159 following its approval in the Senate early last month. The legislation would allow Mr Trump and future American presidents to impose tariffs of up to 100 per cent on major importers of Russian energy—including India, Japan, and some EU countries—as well as nations that aid Russia's energy sanctions evasion. It also targets Moscow's leadership and cracks down on Russia's so-called shadow fleet of oil tankers.

The measure is designed to push Russia to end the war in Ukraine, which is now in its fourth year. Mr Trump had previously been reluctant to impose sanctions on Moscow, viewing them as an impediment to negotiations, but he grew more supportive of the idea as the conflict dragged on. Representative Mike Lawler, the bill's House co-sponsor, stated that the legislation raises the cost of aggression.

"Vladimir Putin is a dictator and a thug, not a friend of the United States. If Ukraine falls, the danger does not stop at its borders," he wrote in a post on X, adding that oil revenue, banks, oligarchs, and the shadow fleet have kept the war machine running.

Meanwhile, the Iran provision extends the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996, which was originally set to expire this year. These sanctions aim to maintain pressure on Iran's weapons and energy industries while choking off state revenue. The US is currently engaged in Operation Economic Outcast, which focuses on cutting off Iranian sources of funding globally.

"Under Operation Economic Outcast, Treasury will continue to target and disrupt those who provide material, technological or financial support that allows the Iranian regime to sustain its terrorist enterprise," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated this week.