United Nations sanctions on Iranian missiles are set to expire next week amid concerns about Iran’s role in arming the Hamas terrorists that attacked Israel.
The sanctions were part of the Iran nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, that the Obama administration helped negotiate in 2015.
The Oct. 18 expiration date of the U.N. embargo could allow Iran to begin buying and selling missiles around the world for the first time in years.
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While the State Department has indicated it hopes to keep unilateral U.S. sanctions on Iranian missiles, those sanctions would not stop some other countries, including Russia, from buying Iranian missiles once the U.N. embargo lifts.
White House officials have not said whether they will object to the expiration of those U.N. sanctions. The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
But the Biden administration has faced criticism this week for its overtures toward Iran, including a recent move to unfreeze $6 billion in Iranian oil revenues in exchange for the return of five American hostages.
President Joe Biden has taken steps to return the United States to the Iran nuclear deal, which former President Donald Trump left in 2018. Iran has continued enriching uranium in violation of the original terms of the deal, and the two sides had not yet agreed on a way to re-enter the JCPOA before the Hamas attack on Israel complicated the situation domestically for Biden.
Three European countries — Germany, France, and Britain — said last month that they would also maintain their own sanctions against the sale of Iranian missiles after the U.N. embargo lifts on Oct. 18.
Still, experts have expressed concerns that allowing the sanctions to expire could benefit Russia in its war against Ukraine, as Moscow could soon have a new source of weapons.
The House overwhelmingly passed legislation last month that would strengthen U.S. sanctions on the sale of Iranian missiles and drones in an effort to limit Iranian arms dealing after the U.N. embargo lifts next week.
Iran will also continue to face scrutiny in the days ahead over the arms it has supplied to proxy groups, including Hamas and Hezbollah.
Biden administration officials have maintained that the United States sees no “direct evidence” that Iran played a role in Hamas’s surprise attack on Israel.
But the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and New York Times each reported this week that Iranians helped Hamas plan the operation for at least several weeks, and possibly several months, before it began.
The White House has defended its decision to release $6 billion in Iranian oil money back to Iran after Trump’s sanctions froze it for years in a South Korean bank.
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Iran knew it would likely be receiving the money months before its proxy group attacked Israel. Although the Biden administration has said Iran can only spend the money on humanitarian needs, Iranian leaders have said they plan to spend the money however they want.
The Biden administration has indicated it has no plans to refreeze the Iranian money in light of the Hamas attack.