Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce called these abuses the “M.O.” of the regime, noting that the mullahs have repressed the Iranian people and their desire for regime change with violence, imprisonment, amputations, floggings, blindings, and even executions.
He said: “For years, the regime in Tehran has systematically beat down all opposition in Iran. It regularly uses brutal tactics at home, including torture and mass executions, as it seeks to export violence and radical ideology abroad. Ever since its 1979 revolution, Iran has been a rogue state.”
Royce reported that the Iranian Regime was even using technology to spy on the Iranian people and their activities, a reference to the mullahs’ banning of the Telegram messaging app late last month. The mullahs encouraged the Iranian people to use home-grown apps instead, most of which were created by the Regime and allow them to spy on the conversations.
He said: “[The Regime] flagrantly disregards commitments it’s made to respect the fundamental rights of the Iranian people.”
Of course, the most brutal of all of the Regime’s crimes against its own people is the 1988 massacre of 30,000 political prisoners, including children and the elderly. Many of those executed had already completed prison sentences for peaceful political activism (i.e. leaflet drops).
No one was ever brought to justice for this crime and many of the criminals are still in power today, despite constant calls by the families for the international community to step in.
The bill, titled H.R. 4744, was a joint push by Royce, Chairman McCaul and Ranking Member Engel, whom Royce praised for their efforts.
Royce said: “It is critical that the United States and our allies continue to press Iran for its dangerous and threatening acts that fall outside of the JCPOA. This is an area where officials from both the Trump and Obama administrations agree, and for good reason.”
The bill includes additional sanctions against various Iranian officials and outlines steps for the US to address the hostage-taking that is so routine from the Iranian Regime. It also calls on the US to work with its allies to apply sanctions against Iran when it takes citizens of those nations hostage, particularly the politically motivated arrests.
The bill also calls on the international community and the US to stand up for the Iranian people who have been subjected to decades of abuse by the Regime.
