Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar was one of the 17 members of Congress who called on the Trump Administration to dramatically reduce its sanctions against Iran.
In a letter issued on Tuesday to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, the lawmakers wrote that the hefty sanctions the US has imposed on the country was tantamount to “economic warfare.”
Tensions between Iran and the US are at a boiling point after the US decided to pull out of the nuclear deal signed with the P5+1, namely China, France, Russia, Britain, the United States, and Germany. Since then, the Trump administration’s policy regarding Iran has been to levy heavy sanctions against the country until its leadership returns to the negotiating table.
Members of Congress who signed the letter, though, strongly disagree with this approach.
The Iranian economy has spiraled out of control in recent months, with many taking to the streets to express their outrage – sometimes with deadly results.
“On October 25, 2019, the Department of Treasury announced a new ‘humanitarian mechanism’ to allow medicine imports into Iran. However, this was coupled by the designation of Iran as a ‘primary money laundering concern’ under Section 311 of the USA Patriot Act,” the letter explains.
Such an action, according to the letter is “insufficient, as it creates rigorous conditions for foreign bank participation with regard to humanitarian trade.
Source » israelhayom