Eight Republican senators have introduced legislation aimed at preventing sanctioned Iranian officials from entering the United States as diplomatic representatives to the United Nations, JNS reported on Thursday.
The bill, titled the Strengthening Entry Visa Enforcement and Restrictions (SEVER) Act, would bar any Iranian official designated under Executive Order 13876 from receiving a diplomatic visa. The executive order, signed by President Donald Trump in 2019, targets over 100 individuals and entities linked to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX), a co-sponsor of the bill, accused the Iranian regime of being responsible for the “murder, injury and kidnapping of thousands of Americans.”
“If you are a crony of the ayatollah who has been sanctioned by the United States, it means that you pose a threat to the safety and security of Americans, and you should not be allowed on American soil - let alone to engage in diplomacy at the United Nations General Assembly,” Cruz stated.
The legislation is spearheaded by Cruz and Senator Rick Scott (R-FL), and joined by Senators Tom Cotton (R-AR.), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Ashley Moody (R-FL), John Barrasso (R-WY), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), and Bill Hagerty (R-TN). Representative Claudia Tenney (R-NY) introduced the companion bill in the House.
The United States has not maintained diplomatic relations with Iran since 1980. Iranian diplomats posted to Turtle Bay are already subject to travel restrictions, and on Monday, the State Department announced a new ban preventing them from shopping at luxury and wholesale stores.
In 2019, the State Department denied a request from then-Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif - himself sanctioned under Executive Order 13876 - to visit Iran’s UN ambassador in a New York hospital where he was receiving cancer treatment.
In 2020, the Trump administration barred Zarif from entering the United States to address the United Nations Security Council about the US elimination of Iran’s top military official Qassem Soleimani.
During a previous Zarif visit to the UN, the US issued him a visa but forbade him from moving beyond six blocks of Iran's UN mission in Midtown Manhattan, a move which resulted in criticism from the UN.