New York, NY, December 16, 2009 … The Anti-Defamation League today (ADL) hailed passage by the U.S. House of Representatives of the Iran Refined Petroleum Sanctions Act (IRPSA/H.R.2194), which seeks to pressure Iran to suspend its uranium enrichment activities.

Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director, issued the following statement:

This is a crucial time for the United States to move from overtures to pressure in its effort to get Iran's government to reverse course.  The Iranian government has made clear its refusal to engage on its nuclear program and is intent on building a nuclear weapon and the ability to deliver it to target.  At the same time, Iran remains a state sponsor of terrorism – funding and training terrorist organizations and cultivating extremist forces.  Its leaders have repeatedly called for Israel's demise and have propagated base anti-Semitism, including denial of the Holocaust.

 

We commend the leadership of House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA) and Ranking Member Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) for crafting and moving this legislation to passage.  We urge the Senate to take swift action on similar legislation currently pending.

The legislation, passed by a vote of 412-12, authorizes the president to sanction foreign firms providing refined petroleum to Iran – or otherwise aiding Iran's ability to import refined petroleum through financing, brokering, underwriting, or providing ships for such activity.

The same would be true for those providing goods or services to help maintain or expand Iran's domestic production of refined petroleum.  The bill allows the president to waive the sanctions if he deems it to be in the U.S. national security interest.

The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world's leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.