The Biden-Harris administration recently waived mandatory sanctions on Iran’s state-controlled broadcasting company, which has been publishing a steady stream of anti-Israel, anti-Semitic, and pro-terrorism content since Hamas’s Oct. 7 strike on the Jewish state, the Washington Free Beacon has learned.
The State Department informed Congress in a non-public Aug. 9 notification that it will continue to skirt sanctions on the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), the hardline regime’s principal propaganda arm that controls radio, television, and news outlets, according to a copy of the notice reviewed by the Free Beacon.
The waiver allows the IRIB to conduct financial transactions as it disseminates radical agitprop advocating for Israel’s destruction and terrorism against American outposts in the Middle East. It is the first time the Biden-Harris administration has renewed the waiver since Hamas launched its unprecedented attack on Israel, sparking war with Iranian proxies across the region.
While past administrations have waived sanctions on the IRIB, starting with the Obama administration in 2014, the fresh waiver comes amid a unique period of Iranian aggression. In the wake of the Oct. 7 attack by Iranian terrorist proxy Hamas, Tehran has launched increased attacks on American bases and personnel, as well as the Jewish state.
As a result, the decision to grant Iran fresh sanctions relief is being met with GOP anger on Capitol Hill, particularly in light of Tehran’s increased attacks on American bases, personnel, and allies, including Israel.
"The Biden-Harris administration's appeasement of the Iranian regime knows no bounds, even while the regime and its proxies are launching daily attacks against American troops and our allies," Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Texas), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told the Free Beacon.
"The administration has allowed over $100 billion to flow to the Ayatollah, which he pours into nuclear development, terrorism, and propaganda, all of which is also supposed to be subject to sanctions—which the administration is also waiving or refusing to enforce."
The Biden-Harris administration also waived IRIB sanctions in February 2023. At that time, Iran was murdering anti-regime protesters and broadcasting their forced confessions on television.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken personally signed off on the new sanctions waiver, telling Congress that bypassing sanctions on Tehran "is vital to the national security of the United States." A State Department spokesman made a similar argument, telling the Free Beacon in a statement that waiver "is made with the U.S. national interest in mind."
"While this narrow waiver allows for the provision of satellite broadcast services to IRIB, IRIB itself and its senior leadership … remain subject to U.S. sanctions under various authorities, including for their involvement in censorship and human rights abuses," the spokesman said in a statement.
As part of the waiver, Iran’s state broadcaster will be allowed to engage in financial transactions with individuals outside of the country for services such as fiber optics connectivity and the management of satellites delivering the IRIB’s propaganda.
Transactions necessary to "establish and maintain ground and satellite connectivity with the IRIB" also are permitted under the waiver. This includes coordination with "in-country personnel on matters such as configuring ground and earth station equipment to access space segment capacity," as well as marketing, billing, and legal services related to the broadcaster’s operations.
The timing of the waiver is drawing scrutiny from congressional officials and regional experts, given the IRIB’s status as Tehran’s chief purveyor of radical content aimed at inflaming the Middle East and stoking anti-Israel fervor in America.
Many IRIB-controlled outlets—most notably PressTV—are part of an Iran-run disinformation campaign aimed at sowing dissent across America in the lead up to the 2024 presidential election. The U.S. intelligence community disclosed earlier this year that Tehran is using a vast web of online networks to undermine GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump.
Iran is also behind a series of hack attacks on U.S. government officials, as well as presidential campaign staffers. Other Iranian influence campaigns include financial support for anti-Israel protesters in America.
PressTV—an IRIB-controlled outlet that broadcasts in English and has a large reach on social media sites like X—has spent the months since Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack rallying the world against Israel.
In recent days, for instance, PressTV has amplified threats by the Iran-backed Houthi terrorists in Yemen, who are responsible for a spate of missile attacks that have killed Americans and other Westerners in the region. The outlet on Thursday also accused Israel of "trying to gradually destroy Palestine."
In other postings, PressTV promoted "‘Axis of Resistance’ operations against Israeli occupation," celebrated a "martyred" Iranian commander, promoted anti-Israel rallies, and claimed that Israel is intentionally murdering innocent Palestinians.
Behnam Ben Taleblu, an Iran analyst with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies think tank, said that by waiving sanctions on the IRIB, the United States is making it easier for Tehran to export its radical ideology.
"At a time when the nexus between Tehran’s anti-Americanism and anti-Semitism couldn’t be any clearer, or more lethal, providing sanctions waivers for Iranian state broadcasters to spread their regime’s invective and propaganda is morally corrosive, politically dubious, and a strategic own goal," Taleblu said.
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