The US House of Representatives passed a bipartisan resolution this past Wednesday, January 25th, supporting the rioters in Iran and calling for increased sanctions. The resolution passed the House by a vote of 420 to 1.

Republican Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5) co-led this effort along with Congresswoman Claudia Tenney (NY-24) and House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (TX-10). Gottheimer mentioned in a statement “With this bipartisan resolution passing the House today, we’re making clear that we support those brave individuals committed to freedom and human rights, both in Iran and around the world. Now, I urge the Senate to pass this bipartisan bill so that it can get to the President’s desk.” Mccaul also released a statement on the legislation, calling for the “full enforcement of all existing sanctions.” A spokesman for Congressman Thomas Massie (R-Ky), the only one who voted against the resolution, stated that he opposed it because “it encourages the immediate imposition of sanctions.” 

The resolution includes sections discussing support for riots and sanctions as well as slogans calling for the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei. A section also condemned the tragic death of a young Iranian Woman, Mahsi Amini, last September. It points to the cause of her death being from “a brutal beating inflicted by the police” despite the official medical report  indicating natural causes. The resolution expresses support for the rioters mentioning how they “risked their safety to speak out against the human rights abuses committed.” 

The resolution also calls for continued foreign intervention and riot organizing in Iran.  The legislation “encourages the private sector, following the recent clarification by the Biden Administration of sanctions exemptions on communications technology, to work with the Biden Administration to ensure protestors and activists have access to tools needed to circumvent government surveillance and repression.” To tack on, the resolution calls on “supporting VPN’s and other alternatives” that can be used to bypass Iranian surveillance and contribute to riot organizing. It also called for the broader international community to get involved and welcomed them to also help in “imposing human right sanctions.” 

The resolution also mentioned various slogans they supported including, “death to the dictator Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.” This comes shortly after the western backed propaganda campaign against Ayatollah Khamenei, who remains a revered leader amongst Iranians and Muslims around the world. The resolution encourages foreign backed riots and the utilizing of sanctions as economic penalties. While sanctions are proven to hurt the Iranian layman by weaponizing food, medicine and basic necessities, critics question the true motives of this scheme aimed at dismantling the current system of the Islamic Republic by the United States.