We recognize that our readers have no doubt been following events inside
Israel over the past weeks and we, too, are watching these events with
concern. However, as you know, we take no position on internal Israeli
politics. As such, in this week’s Action Update we will focus on a
number of issues related to Iran.

**Cruz vs Blinken**

Last Wednesday, there was a rather dramatic exchange between Sen. Ted
Cruz (R-TX) and Secretary of State Anthony Blinken during a Senate
Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC) hearing to discuss the proposed 2024
State Department budget.

During his remarks, Cruz spelled out how the Biden administration is
aiding and abetting Russia, China, and Iran, by waiving certain
sanctions on the Islamic Republic. The effect of these waivers is that
these three evil powers, with Iran sitting at the nexus of this axis,
are able to buy/sell more oil, purchase and develop more weapons, and
harm innocent people.

During the exchange, Cruz specifically cited the exponential increase in
the number of oil tankers Iran is using to sell oil to various nations
around the world, and the significant rise in total Iranian oil exports
which fund the regime’s nuclear program, support for terrorism, and
subjugation of its own people.

“This administration has shown weakness on Iran since day one and
continues to do so. Just in the last few weeks there have been reports
that you again waived congressional sanctions to allow Iraq to move
money to the Central Bank of Iran, which the Ayatollah uses for
terrorism, for ballistic missile development, and nuclear weapons
work,” Cruz said.

Based on comments made by others during the hearing, it’s clear that
Cruz is hardly alone in being frustrated by the Biden administration’s
inept effort to address Iran’s malign activities.

**Congress vs the President**

This frustration extends well beyond sanctions waivers. Case-in-point:
last week a dozen Senators, led by longtime CUFI ally Sen. James Risch
(R-ID), sent a letter to the European Union (EU) High Representative for
Foreign Affairs and Security Policy calling upon the EU to end their
“hesitation to designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)
of Iran as an addition to the EU Terror List.”

As regular readers of the Update know, the IRGC is both an extremely
powerful element of the Iranian state and a terrorist organization, all
rolled into one. The U.S. has designated the IRGC a Foreign Terrorist
Organization (FTO), so one would think American policy in this matter
would be consistent. But according to conversations we’ve had  with
our partners in the United Kingdom, the State Department is quietly, yet
actively, seeking to dissuade others from designating the IRGC as a
terrorist organization.

No doubt the State Department’s justification for doing so is in-line
with Germany’s (and other European states) hesitation in moving ahead
with the common-sense move to call the IRGC what they are. Specifically,
these countries are concerned such a move could close the door to
communication with Iran. But such a position begs the question: what
have these negotiations gotten us? Iran is helping Russia kill
Ukrainians, selling oil to China, continues to back Hezbollah, and has
dramatically advanced its nuclear program. So, what does the West
actually have to show for all the years of breaking bread with the
tyrants of Tehran?

In the aforementioned SFRC hearing, Cruz noted, “I'm deeply
concerned… that no matter how much you may want to help Ukraine there
is something the Biden administration wants more, which is to re-enter a
nuclear agreement with Iran.”

If Cruz is right, and we suspect he is, then despite Iran advancing its
nuclear capability by leaps and bounds since President Biden took
office, Tehran’s arrest, torture, and abuse of their own people, and
their material support for Russia’s criminal war in Ukraine, the Biden
administration has still failed to accept that the only real solution to
the Iran problem is regime change from within.

**Words vs Actions**

At this stage, the Biden administration appears to be willing to pay lip
service to the protesters dying in Iran’s streets, but they can’t
bring themselves to advance the commonsense policies that will actually
aid Iran’s civil and human rights movement. At present, ours are not
the actions of a country that sits at the head of the international
table.

We’ve had some discussions here at the office recently concerning the
Biden administration’s reasoning on these matters. In sum, we’re
trying to figure out the thought process that serves as the cornerstone
for the Biden administration’s approach to the Middle East. And
despite well over a half-century’s worth of experience in foreign
policy matters amongst our team, we came up with nothing. There is no
rhyme or reason to Washington’s disconnected, contradictory, and
fundamentally feeble approach dealing with Iran.

This must change. And to that end, the CUFI Action Fund is supporting
legislation that would effectively take away the Biden
administration’s ability to waive certain sanctions against the
Islamic Republic.

In the press release announcing that legislation, Sen. Cruz said,
“There is absolutely no reason to continue issuing these waivers,
which allow Iran and Russia to cooperate on building up Iran’s nuclear
program. These waivers were nevertheless renewed in August, because the
Biden administration remains obsessed with reentering a nuclear deal
with the Iranian regime. Now the administration says it is committed to
countering cooperation between Iran and Russia. They should embrace this
legislation.”

We couldn’t agree more.

Sincerely,

The CUFI Action Fund Team <https:[link removed]>

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