UANI Applauds Passage of the MAHSA Act and SHIP Act

(New York, NY) – United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI)’s CEO Ambassador Mark D. Wallace released the following statement today after President Joe Biden signed the Mahsa Amini Human Rights and Security Accountability Act (MAHSA Act) and the Stop Harboring Iranian Petroleum (SHIP Act) into law.

“UANI applauds the passage of the MAHSA Act and SHIP Act. The MAHSA Act will pave the way for long overdue sanctions on the Islamic Republic of Iran’s supreme leader, president, and the entities they control under counterterrorism and human rights abuse authorities.

“Soon after the murder of Mahsa Amini by the Iranian regime’s security forces in September 2022, UANI’s Policy Director Jason Brodsky and Director of Outreach and Human Rights Research Alan Goldsmith argued in an essay for 1945 that the Biden administration and its allies should sanction Iran’s supreme leader for human rights abuses as the Morality Police which killed Mahsa Amini reports ultimately to him. The MAHSA Act lays the groundwork for accomplishing that goal, for which UANI has advocated for years.

“The MAHSA Act’s passage is due to the tireless efforts of the Iranian American community whose organizing power and hard work transformed a bill which at first had difficulty attracting cosponsors into a bipartisan success story. The MAHSA Act amplifies the voices of the brave people of Iran who have been calling for an end to the Islamic Republic.

“UANI likewise applauds the passage of the SHIP Act. Oil forms the lifeblood of the regime’s repression and terrorism at home and abroad. Its expansive reach will extend sanctions to shipping companies, foreign ports, refineries, and vessels engaged in this illicit trade in defiance of U.S. sanctions.

“Crucially, the bill also targets the Chinese financial institutions that process “significant financial transactions” involving Iranian oil, even when they occur outside the nexus of the U.S. financial system. China is by far the biggest buyer of U.S.-sanctioned oil, and has retained its number one importers’ spot on UANI’s “tanker tracker” for every successive month since the launch of this resource in 2018.

“UANI, which generates “the best public data we have” on Iranian oil exports, according to the Wall Street Journal, has long called for smarter, tougher, and better-enforced policies with respect to Iran’s most lucrative commodity, especially targeting Chinese entities—both the “teapot” refiners and their financiers. The regime has been able to export oil worth over $90 billion from this activity since January 2021. It is time to fully enforce sanctions, and the SHIP Act is likely to have a significant effect in these efforts.”