Iran Freedom Policy and Sanctions Act

Short title— This Act may be cited as the “Iran Freedom Policy and Sanctions Act”.

Table of contents— The table of contents for this Act is as follows:

A nuclear-capable Iran threatens United States national security and global stability.

Since the 1980s, Iran has engaged in a sustained and well-documented pattern of illicit and deceptive activities to acquire a nuclear weapons capability.

It is the policy of the United States to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapons capability.

Iran is developing an arsenal of advanced long-range ballistic missiles, including some already capable of reaching India, North Africa, western China, and parts of eastern Europe.

The Department of State has designated Iran as a state sponsor of terrorism since 1984 and has characterized Iran as the “most active state sponsor of terrorism” in the world.

Iran is a world leader in human rights violations, including the persecution of religious minorities and imprisonment of United States citizens.

Beginning on December 28, 2017, Iranians from all social sectors have participated in protests against the Iranian regime’s oppressive domestic policies and destructive foreign policy, in which over 1,000 protestors have been arrested and 21 have been killed.

The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action fails to permanently prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapons capability and fails to provide the international community a legitimate inspections regime to monitor Iran’s nuclear program.

The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action allows key restraints on Iran’s nuclear program to expire within 10 to 15 years, including those on Iran’s domestic uranium enrichment program and heavy-water reactor at Arak.

United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231 (2015), which endorses the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, allows for lifting international restrictions on Iran with regards to conventional military arms and ballistic missiles.

The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action fails to address Iran’s egregious human rights record, Iran’s role as the world’s leading state-sponsor of international terrorism, and Iran’s unjust imprisonment of innocent United States citizens.

On numerous occasions, Iran has violated both the letter and the spirit of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action and its related agreements by exceeding the limits of heavy water production, testing ballistic missiles, seeking to acquire potentially illicit materials outside the mandatory procurement channel, and sending arms to terrorist groups around the Middle East.

The current Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action framework is insufficient in blocking Iran from developing a nuclear weapons capability, and it is in the United States national security interest to renegotiate this agreement to strengthen its terms or to abrogate the agreement and use all necessary measures to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.

deny the Government of Iran the ability to continue to oppress the people of Iran and to use violence and executions against pro-democracy pro­test­ors and regime opponents;

fully and publicly support efforts made by the people of Iran to promote the establishment of basic freedoms that build the foundation for the emergence of a freely elected, open, and democratic political system;

help the people of Iran produce, access, and share information freely and safely via the Internet and through other media;

defeat all attempts by the Government of Iran to jam or otherwise obstruct international satellite broadcast signals, internet access, or social media access for the people of Iran;

ensure Iran is permanently prevented from obtaining a nuclear weapons capability;

extend indefinitely upon Iran restrictions on nuclear-related activities to prevent both the uranium and plutonium pathways to nuclear wea­pon­i­za­tion; and

seek a United Nations Security Council resolution permanently extending prohibitions on Iran’s ballistic missile and arms embargo as found in paragraphs 3 and 4 of Annex B of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231 (2015).

Appropriate congressional committees— The term appropriate congressional committees has the meaning given that term in section 14 of the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996 (Public Law 104–172; 50 U.S.C. 1701 note).

Entity— The term entity means any corporation, business association, partnership, trust, society, or any other entity.

IRGC— The term IRGC means Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action— The term Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action means the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, agreed to at Vienna on July 14, 2015, by Iran and by the People's Republic of China, France, Germany, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and the United States, with the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and all implementing materials and agreements related to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

NPT Safeguards Agreement— The term NPT Safeguards Agreement means the Agreement between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency for the Application of Safeguards in Connection with the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, which entered into force on May 15, 1974.

Person— The term person means an individual or entity.