Possible Iran Ties to US Protests May Have Violated Sanctions, Lawmakers Say

A bipartisan group of 22 House members urged the Biden administration this month to investigate reports that Iran provided financial support to pro-Palestinian protest groups in the United States, possibly in violation of U.S. sanctions laws.

In a letter led by Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind., the lawmakers said that because Iran is designated as a state sponsor of terrorism, it may have been illegal for individuals or banks to conduct financial transactions with the Iranian regime. Protest groups also may have broken the law if they received funding from certain Iranian government entities, such as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which is designated a foreign terrorist organization, or the Central Bank of Iran, which is a specially designated global terrorist.

"Given that the aforementioned funding almost certainly violates the U.S. anti-terrorism statutes noted [in this letter], we call on you to aggressively prosecute any violations by U.S. individuals and entities of these laws, to impose civil penalties on any violators, and to sanction those entities which provided this funding or facilitated these transactions," the lawmakers wrote.

The letter was addressed to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, as well as Attorney General Merrick Garland and Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines. The recipients had no immediate comment on the letter.