ACLJ Sends Letter to Secretaries Blinken and Yellen and Congressional Leadership Encouraging Additional Actions To Hold Iran Accountable for Outrageous Attack on Israel

Last week, the ACLJ sent letters to key officials in the Legislative and Executive branches to advocate for additional and stronger measures to hold Iran accountable for its reprehensible direct missile and drone attack on Israel.

We sent our letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell – as well as the Chairmen and Ranking Members of relevant House and Senate Committees.

In the letter, we reiterate the atrocities facilitated and committed by Iran against Israel and call on our nation’s leaders to take urgent and decisive actions. Our letter reads:

[On] April 13-14, Iran launched an air assault of approximately 300 missiles and drones at our ally, the sovereign nation of Israel. . . . [W]e urge swift and meaningful action in enforcing existing sanctions and issuing new ones to hold Iran accountable. The United States should use all legislative and executive authorities at its disposal to punish and deter Iranian terror, atrocities, and acts of war.

Specifically, we asked that the $6 billion in funds currently held in Qatar be permanently kept out of the hands of Iran and, preferably, “revoked and repurposed to the U.S. Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund.” It is widely known that money is fungible, and that fungibility frees up additional resources for Iran to fund terrorist attacks against Israel and further destabilize the Middle East. Cutting off Iran’s access to these financial resources is an essential first step in stopping their violence.

Additionally, we call out the Biden Administration’s concessions to Iran that have empowered our adversaries to execute these attacks. The Biden Administration has continuously demonstrated weakness on the world stage, including facilitating the $6 billion payment above as part of a prisoner exchange. Furthermore, President Biden has proven all too willing to waive the application of multiple sanctions intended to hold the pariah state accountable.

The attacks earlier this month are the latest in a long pattern of Iran’s aggression over the past six months, including Iran-backed attacks that murdered three American troops in January 2024 and the 170 attacks carried out on American bases throughout the region since Hamas’ genocidal attack on Israel on October 7 last year.

On a positive note, President Biden’s signing of the foreign aid package into law last week did broaden some sanctions “to include ports, vessels, and refineries knowingly processing or shipping Iranian crude oil in violation of existing sanctions.” Furthermore, the White House has noted they are considering “new sanctions targeting Iran, including its missile and drone program as well as new sanctions against entities supporting the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Iran’s Defense Ministry.” We welcome all such actions by the Biden Administration to hold Iran accountable, and we hope the recent increase in violence has at least woken up President Biden, a President who has been fully asleep at the wheel. Until now, it seemed that President Biden and the United States were sleepwalking into a war in the Middle East. As we state in our letter, “If the sanctions on Iran are intended as an alternative to war, then the sanctions must be strong, and they must be fully enforced.”

Rest assured that the ACLJ will continue to make sure that President Biden and Congress exercise the full power of their authority rather than giving concessions to our adversaries and waiving certain sanctions on Iran. Furthermore, we stand ready to work with all our partners in the Legislative and Executive branches to provide the assistance needed as we stand shoulder to shoulder with our great ally Israel and work to end Iran’s violence and terror in the Middle East.