I 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 3783 

To provide for a comprehensive strategy to counter Iran’s growing presence 

and hostile activity in the Western Hemisphere, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 18, 2012 

Mr. DUNCAN of South Carolina (for himself, Mr. HIGGINS, Mr. MACK, Mr. 

MCCAUL, Mrs. MYRICK, Ms. HOCHUL, Mr. MEEHAN, Mr. CANSECO, Mr. 

KING of Iowa, Mr. HULTGREN, Mr. FRANKS of Arizona, Mr. WALSH of 

Illinois, Mr. HUNTER, Mr. ROYCE, Mr. PITTS, Mrs. BLACKBURN, Mrs. 

LUMMIS, Mr. AUSTRIA, Mr. DESJARLAIS, Mr. QUAYLE, Mr. CULBERSON, 

Mr. CALVERT, Mr. BURTON of Indiana, Mr. POE of Texas, Mr. BILIRAKIS, and Mr. LAMBORN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

A BILL 

To provide for a comprehensive strategy to counter Iran’s 

growing presence and hostile activity in the Western 

Hemisphere, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Countering Iran in 

5 the Western Hemisphere Act of 2012’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


tjames on DSK6SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 3783 IH

1 (1) The United States has vital political, eco2 nomic, and security interests in the Western Hemi3 sphere. 

4 (2) Iran is pursuing cooperation with Latin 

5 American countries by signing economic and security 

6 agreements in order to create a network of diplo7 matic and economic relationships to lessen the blow 

8 of international sanctions and oppose Western at9 tempts to constrict its ambitions. 

10 (3) According to the Department of State, 

11 Hezbollah, with Iran as its state sponsor, is consid12 ered the ‘‘most technically capable terrorist group in 

13 the world’’ with ‘‘thousands of supporters, several 

14 thousand members, and a few hundred terrorist 

15 operatives’’, and officials from Iran’s IRGC’s Qods 

16 Force have been working in concert with Hezbollah 

17 since the 1990s. 

18 (4) The IRGC’s Qods Force has a long history 

19 of supporting Hezbollah’s military, paramilitary, and 

20 terrorist activities, providing it with guidance, fund21 ing, weapons, intelligence, and logistical support, 

22 and in 2007, the Department of the Treasury placed 

23 sanctions on the IRGC and its Qods Force for their 

24 support of terrorism and proliferation activities. 


tjames on DSK6SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 3783 IH

1 (5) The IRGC’s Qods Force stations operatives 

2 in foreign embassies, charities, and religious and cul3 tural institutions to foster relationships, often build4 ing on existing socio-economic ties with the well es5 tablished Shia Diaspora, and recent years have wit6 nessed an increased presence in Latin America. 

7 (6) According to the Department of Defense, 

8 the IRGC and its Qods Force were involved in or be9 hind some of the deadliest terrorist attacks of the 

10 past two decades, including the 1994 attack on the 

11 AMIA Jewish Community Center in Buenos Aires, 

12 by generally directing or supporting the groups that 

13 actually executed the attacks. 

14 (7) Reports of Iranian intelligence agents being 

15 implicated in Hezbollah-linked activities since the 

16 early 1990s suggest direct Iranian government sup17 port of Hezbollah activities in the Tri-Border Area 

18 of Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay, and in the past 

19 decade, Iran has dramatically increased its diplo20 matic missions to Venezuela, Bolivia, Nicaragua, Ec21 uador, Argentina, and Brazil. Iran has built 17 cul22 tural centers in Latin America, and it currently 

23 maintains 11 embassies, up from six in 2005. 

24 (8) Iran has used its proxies in Latin America 

25 to raise revenues through illicit activities, including 


tjames on DSK6SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 3783 IH

1 drug and arms trafficking, counterfeiting, money 

2 laundering, forging travel documents, pirating soft3 ware and music, and providing haven and assistance 

4 to other terrorists transiting the region. 

5 (9) According to the Department of Defense, 

6 Iran provides support for Hamas despite ideological 

7 differences, and there is concern that Hamas is ac8 tive in the Western Hemisphere, most notably in Ca9 racas. 

10 (10) Bolivia, Cuba, Ecuador, Nicaragua, and 

11 Venezuela expressed their intention to assist Iran in 

12 breaking international sanctions signing a statement 

13 supporting Iran’s nuclear activities and announcing 

14 at a 2010 joint press conference in Tehran their de15 termination to ‘‘continue and expand their economic 

16 ties to Iran’’ with confidence that ‘‘Iran can give a 

17 crushing response to the threats and sanctions im18 posed by the West and imperialism’’. 

19 (11) Sophisticated narco-tunneling reportedly 

20 resembling the types used by Hezbollah in Lebanon 

21 have been discovered along the United States-Mexico 

22 border, and arrested Mexican gang members enter23 ing the United States allegedly with Farsi tattoos 

24 have led to concerns about Hezbollah’s ability to co25 operate with Mexican drug cartels to utilize smugVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:59 Jan 19, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3783.IH H3783

tjames on DSK6SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 3783 IH

1 gling techniques and routes in order to transport 

2 drugs and people into the United States. 

3 (12) Since the fall of 2008, at least 111 sus4 pects of a Hezbollah-linked international network of 

5 drug traffickers and money launderers have been ar6 rested in Drug Enforcement Administration oper7 ations. 

8 (13) In October 2011, the United States 

9 charged two men, including Iranian-American 

10 Manssor Arbabsiar, a member of the IRGC’s Qods 

11 Force, on conspiracy to murder a foreign official 

12 using a weapon of mass destruction in an act of ter13 rorism. Arbabsiar traveled to Mexico with the ex14 press intent to hire ‘‘someone in the narcotics busi15 ness’’ to carry out the assassination of the Saudi 

16 Arabian Ambassador in the United States. 

17 (14) The Obama Administration’s 2011 Strat18 egy for Counterterrorism does not adequately ad19 dress Iran’s growing influence and operations in the 

20 Western Hemisphere. 

21 SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

22 It shall be the policy of the United States to use all 

23 elements of national power to counter Iran’s growing pres24 ence and hostile activity in the Western Hemisphere. 


tjames on DSK6SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 3783 IH

1 SEC. 4. REQUIREMENT OF A STRATEGY TO ADDRESS IRAN’S 

2 GROWING PRESENCE AND ACTIVITY IN THE 

3 WESTERN HEMISPHERE. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

5 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State 

6 shall submit to the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 

7 House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign 

8 Relations of the Senate a strategy to address Iran’s grow9 ing presence and activity in the Western Hemisphere 

10 that— 

11 (1) defines and outlines the presence and activi12 ties of Iran, the IRGC, its Qods Force, Hezbollah, 

13 and Hamas in the Western Hemisphere, including 

14 information about their leaders, goals, objectives, 

15 and areas of influence; 

16 (2) provides an assessment of the terrain, popu17 lation, ports, foreign firms, airports, borders, media 

18 outlets, financial centers, foreign embassies, char19 ities, religious and cultural centers, and income-gen20 erating activities in the Western Hemisphere utilized 

21 by Iran, the IRGC, its Qods Force, Hezbollah, and 

22 Hamas; 

23 (3) details operations of Iran, the IRGC, its 

24 Qods Force, Hezbollah, and Hamas within the 

25 United States, including information on financial 

26 networks, trafficking activities, and safe havens; 


tjames on DSK6SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
7 

•HR 3783 IH

1 (4) documents the relationship of Iran, the 

2 IRGC, its Qods Force, Hezbollah, and Hamas with 

3 transnational criminal organizations and other ter4 rorist organizations in the Western Hemisphere; 

5 (5) describes the relationship of Iran, the 

6 IRGC, its Qods Force, Hezbollah, and Hamas with 

7 the governments in the Western Hemisphere, includ8 ing military-to-military relations and diplomatic, eco9 nomic, and security partnerships; 

10 (6) assesses the Federal law enforcement capa11 bilities, military forces, state and local government 

12 institutions, and other critical elements, such as 

13 nongovernmental organizations, of the governments 

14 in the Western Hemisphere that may organize to 

15 counter the threat posed by Iran, the IRGC, its 

16 Qods Force, Hezbollah, and Hamas; 

17 (7) details operations of Iran, the IRGC, its 

18 Qods Force, Hezbollah, and Hamas at the United 

19 States-Mexico border and other international borders 

20 within the Western Hemisphere, including oper21 ations related to drug, human, and arms trafficking, 

22 human support networks, financial support, and 

23 technological advancements; and 

24 (8) includes— 


tjames on DSK6SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
8 

•HR 3783 IH

1 (A) with respect to the United States–Mex2 ico border, in coordination with the Government 

3 of Mexico and the Secretary of Homeland Secu4 rity, a plan to address resources, technology, 

5 and infrastructure to create a secure Southwest 

6 Border and prevent operatives from Iran, the 

7 IRGC, its Qods Force, Hezbollah, or Hamas 

8 from entering the United States; 

9 (B) within Latin American countries, a 

10 multi-agency action plan including the develop11 ment of strong rule-of-law institutions to pro12 vide security for the people and businesses of 

13 such countries, a counterterrorism and counter14 radicalization plan within communities to iso15 late Iran, the IRGC, its Qods Force, Hezbollah, 

16 and Hamas from their sources of financial sup17 port, and combat terrorist activity; and 

18 (C) incorporation of all of the elements of 

19 national power, including diplomatic, economic, 

20 and security elements, designed to counter 

21 Iran’s growing presence and hostile activity in 

22 the Western Hemisphere. 

23 (b) DEVELOPMENT.—In developing the strategy 

24 under this section, the Secretary of State shall consult 

25 with the heads of all appropriate United States departVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:59 Jan 19, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3783.IH H3783

tjames on DSK6SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
9 

•HR 3783 IH

1 ments and agencies, including the Secretary of Defense, 

2 the Director of National Intelligence, the Secretary of 

3 Homeland Security, the Secretary of the Treasury, and 

4 the Attorney General. 

5 (c) FORM.—The strategy under this section shall be 

6 submitted in unclassified form but may include a classified 

7 annex. 

8 SEC. 5. REPORT. 

9 Not later than one year after the submission of the 

10 strategy required under section 4, the Secretary of State 

11 shall submit to the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 

12 House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign 

13 Relations of the Senate a report on the progress made to14 ward the implementation of the strategy and a description 

15 and evaluation toward achieving the policy objective de16 scribed in section 3. 

17 SEC. 6. FUNDING FOR DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTA18 TION OF STRATEGY TO COUNTER IRAN IN 

19 THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE. 

20 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, funds 

21 made available to any office or bureau of the Department 

22 of State for counter-terrorism programs are authorized to 

23 be made available to carrry out this Act. 

Æ 


tjames on DSK6SPTVN1PROD with BILLS