Israel Matzav: Congress seeks to hold up Iran sanctions relief until victims of Iranian terror paid

Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Congress seeks to hold up Iran sanctions relief until victims of Iranian terror paid

Congress is seeking to hold up the release of moneys to Iran until American victims of Iranian-financed terror are paid some $43.5 billion in compensation. A bill to do just that has been introduced by Representative Patrick Meehan (R-Pa).

Let's go the videotape, and then we'll hear about the bill from Adam Kredo.

Yes, before you click the video, that's my friend Arnold Roth's daughter Malki HY"D (May God Avenge her blood), second row from bottom, second from right (first full picture in the row), who was murdered in the Sbarro terror attack.

Adam Kredo reports on the bill.

The bill, which is expected to be brought to the House floor for a vote this week, would require Iran to first pay $43.5 billion in legal penalties awarded by U.S. courts to American victims of Iranian terrorism.

President Obama would then be in a position to either disregard the requirement under his executive authority, thereby clearing the way for Iran to immediately receive $150 billion, or force Tehran to negotiate settlements for these terror victims.

The legislation, called the Justice for Victims of Iranian Terrorism Act, comes after a lawsuit filed by U.S. terror victims that argue they should first be paid damages before Iran sees a dime of the money promised by the Obama administration.

The victims said they fear that if the money is first released to Iran, they will never receive the billions in compensation awarded to them by U.S. courts.

Meehan told the Washington Free Beacon that the legislation would create a circumstance in which “the president must certify that he believes it’s more important to pay money to the Iranian terrorists than it is to compensate the victims of Iranian terror.”

The bill, he said, “would prevent the president from releasing any sanctions unless or until the full damages, which have already been awarded in American courts to victims of Iranian terror, are paid.”

“I’d just like to understand why [Obama] thinks it’s more important to give money back to Iran than it is to first pay the victims of their past terror acts,” said Meehan, who released a video late last week detailing the stories of several Americans harmed by Iranian-backed terrorism.

While the bill has garnered at least 75 co-sponsors in the House, Meehan said he is not certain whether supporters will be able to achieve a veto-proof majority.

After the nuclear sellout, just bringing it to a vote would be an accomplishment.

But you can bet that Obama will veto the bill if it ever passes. His legacy is more important than compensation to ordinary American terror victims. May he rot in hell.

Labels: Arnold Roth, Barack Hussein Obama, Iran, Iran Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, Iran sanctions regime, Malki Roth, Sbarro terror attack, terror funding, terror victim suits in US