PUBLIC LAW 112–220—DEC. 28, 2012 

COUNTERING IRAN IN THE WESTERN 

HEMISPHERE ACT OF 2012 


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126 STAT. 1596 PUBLIC LAW 112–220—DEC. 28, 2012 

Public Law 112–220 

112th Congress 

An Act 

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

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

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 

the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

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

Hemisphere Act of 2012’’. 

SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

Congress finds the following: 

(1) The United States has vital political, economic, and 

security interests in the Western Hemisphere. 

(2) Iran is pursuing cooperation with Latin American countries by signing economic and security agreements in order 

to create a network of diplomatic and economic relationships 

to lessen the blow of international sanctions and oppose 

Western attempts to constrict its ambitions. 

(3) According to the Department of State, Hezbollah, with 

Iran as its state sponsor, is considered the ‘‘most technically 

capable terrorist group in the world’’ with ‘‘thousands of supporters, several thousand members, and a few hundred terrorist 

operatives,’’ and officials from the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary 

Guard Corps (IRGC) Qods Force have been working in concert 

with Hezbollah for many years. 

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

Hezbollah’s military, paramilitary, and terrorist activities, providing it with guidance, funding, weapons, intelligence, and 

logistical support, and in 2007, the Department of the Treasury 

placed sanctions on the IRGC and its Qods Force for their 

support of terrorism and proliferation activities. 

(5) The IRGC’s Qods Force stations operatives in foreign 

embassies, charities, and religious and cultural institutions to 

foster relationships, often building on existing socioeconomic 

ties with the well established Shia Diaspora, and recent years 

have witnessed an increased presence in Latin America. 

(6) According to the Department of Defense, the IRGC 

and its Qods Force played a significant role in some of the 

deadliest terrorist attacks of the past two decades, including 

the 1994 attack on the AMIA Jewish Community Center in 

Buenos Aires, by generally directing or supporting the groups 

that actually executed the attacks. 

(7) Reports of Iranian intelligence agents being implicated 

in Hezbollah-linked activities since the early 1990s suggest 

Countering Iran 

in the Western 

Hemisphere Act 

of 2012. 

22 USC 8701 

note. 

Dec. 28, 2012 

[H.R. 3783] 


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PUBLIC LAW 112–220—DEC. 28, 2012 126 STAT. 1597 

direct Iranian government support of Hezbollah activities in 

the Tri-Border Area of Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay, and 

in the past decade, Iran has dramatically increased its diplomatic missions to Venezuela, Bolivia, Nicaragua, Ecuador, 

Argentina, and Brazil. Iran has built 17 cultural centers in 

Latin America, and it currently maintains 11 embassies, up 

from 6 in 2005. 

(8) Hezbollah and other Iranian proxies with a presence 

in Latin America have raised revenues through illicit activities, 

including drug and arms trafficking, counterfeiting, money 

laundering, forging travel documents, pirating software and 

music, and providing haven and assistance to other terrorists 

transiting the region. 

(9) Bolivia, Cuba, Ecuador, Nicaragua, and Venezuela 

expressed their intention to assist Iran in evading sanctions 

by signing a statement supporting Iran’s nuclear activities and 

announcing at a 2010 joint press conference in Tehran their 

determination to ‘‘continue and expand their economic ties to 

Iran’’ with confidence that ‘‘Iran can give a crushing response 

to the threats and sanctions imposed by the West and imperialism’’. 

(10) The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration concluded 

in 2008 that almost one-half of the foreign terrorist organizations in the world are linked to narcotics trade and trafficking, 

including Hezbollah and Hamas. 

(11) In October 2011, the United States charged two men, 

Manssor Arbabsiar, a United States citizen holding both Iranian and United States passports, and Gholam Shakuri, an 

Iran-based member of Iran’s IRGC Qods Force, with conspiracy 

to murder a foreign official using explosives in an act of terrorism. Arbabsiar traveled to Mexico with the express intent 

to hire ‘‘someone in the narcotics business’’ to carry out the 

assassination of the Saudi Arabian Ambassador in the United 

States. While in the end, he only engaged a U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency informant posing as an associate of a drug trafficking cartel, Arbabsiar believed that he was working with 

a member of a Mexican drug trafficking organization and sought 

to send money to this individual in installments and not in 

a single transfer. 

(12) In February 2011, actions by the Department of the 

Treasury effectively shut down the Lebanese Canadian Bank. 

Subsequent actions by the United States Government in connection with the investigation into Lebanese Canadian Bank 

resulted in the indictment in December 2011 of Ayman Joumaa, 

an individual of Lebanese nationality, with citizenship in Lebanon and Colombia, and with ties to Hezbollah, for trafficking 

cocaine to the Los Zetas drug trafficking organization in Mexico 

City for sale in the United States and for laundering the 

proceeds. 

SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

It shall be the policy of the United States to use a comprehensive government-wide strategy to counter Iran’s growing hostile 

presence and activity in the Western Hemisphere by working 

together with United States allies and partners in the region to 


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126 STAT. 1598 PUBLIC LAW 112–220—DEC. 28, 2012 

mutually deter threats to United States interests by the Government of Iran, the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps 

(IRGC), the IRGC’s Qods Force, and Hezbollah. 

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

In this Act: 

(1) WESTERN HEMISPHERE.—The term ‘‘Western Hemisphere’’ means the United States, Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, South America, and Central America. 

(2) RELEVANT CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES.—The term ‘‘relevant congressional committees’’ means the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Committee 

on Foreign Relations of the Senate. 

SEC. 5. REQUIREMENT OF A STRATEGY TO ADDRESS IRAN’S GROWING 

HOSTILE PRESENCE AND ACTIVITY IN THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE. 

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

the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall conduct 

an assessment of the threats posed to the United States by Iran’s 

growing presence and activity in the Western Hemisphere and 

submit to the relevant congressional committees the results of the 

assessment and a strategy to address Iran’s growing hostile presence and activity in the Western Hemisphere. 

(b) MATTERS TO BE INCLUDED.—The strategy described in subsection (a) should include— 

(1) a description of the presence, activities, and operations 

of Iran, the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), 

its Qods Force, Hezbollah, and other terrorist organizations 

linked to Iran that may be present in the Western Hemisphere, 

including information about their leaders, objectives, and areas 

of influence and information on their financial networks, trafficking activities, and safe havens; 

(2) a description of the terrain, population, ports, foreign 

firms, airports, borders, media outlets, financial centers, foreign 

embassies, charities, religious and cultural centers, and incomegenerating activities in the Western Hemisphere utilized by 

Iran, the IRGC, its Qods Force, Hezbollah, and other terrorist 

organizations linked to Iran that may be present in the Western 

Hemisphere; 

(3) a description of the relationship of Iran, the IRGC, 

its Qods Force, and Hezbollah with transnational criminal 

organizations linked to Iran and other terrorist organizations 

in the Western Hemisphere, including information on financial 

networks and trafficking activities; 

(4) a description of the relationship of Iran, the IRGC, 

its Qods Force, Hezbollah, and other terrorist organizations 

linked to Iran that may be present in the Western Hemisphere 

with the governments in the Western Hemisphere, including 

military-to-military relations and diplomatic, economic, and 

security partnerships and agreements; 

(5) a description of the Federal law enforcement capabilities, military forces, State and local government institutions, 

and other critical elements, such as nongovernmental organizations, in the Western Hemisphere that may organize to counter 

the threat posed by Iran, the IRGC, its Qods Force, Hezbollah, 

and other terrorist organizations linked to Iran that may be 

present in the Western Hemisphere; 

Deadline. 

Assessment. 


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PUBLIC LAW 112–220—DEC. 28, 2012 126 STAT. 1599 

(6) a description of activity by Iran, the IRGC, its Qods 

Force, Hezbollah, and other terrorist organizations linked to 

Iran that may be present at the United States borders with 

Mexico and Canada and at other international borders within 

the Western Hemisphere, including operations related to drug, 

human, and arms trafficking, human support networks, financial support, narco-tunneling, and technological advancements 

that incorporates— 

(A) with respect to the United States borders, in 

coordination with the Governments of Mexico and Canada 

and the Secretary of Homeland Security, a plan to address 

resources, technology, and infrastructure to create a secure 

United States border and strengthen the ability of the 

United States and its allies to prevent operatives from 

Iran, the IRGC, its Qods Force, Hezbollah, or any other 

terrorist organization from entering the United States; and 

(B) within Latin American countries, a multiagency 

action plan, in coordination with United States allies and 

partners in the region, that includes the development of 

strong rule-of-law institutions to provide security in such 

countries and a counterterrorism and counter-radicalization 

plan to isolate Iran, the IRGC, its Qods Force, Hezbollah, 

and other terrorist organizations linked to Iran that may 

be present in the Western Hemisphere from their sources 

of financial support and counter their facilitation of terrorist activity; and 

(7) a plan— 

(A) to address any efforts by foreign persons, entities, 

and governments in the region to assist Iran in evading 

United States and international sanctions; 

(B) to protect United States interests and assets in 

the Western Hemisphere, including embassies, consulates, 

businesses, energy pipelines, and cultural organizations, 

including threats to United States allies; 

(C) to support United States efforts to designate persons and entities in the Western Hemisphere for proliferation activities and terrorist activities relating to Iran, 

including affiliates of the IRGC, its Qods Force, and 

Hezbollah, under applicable law including the International 

Emergency Economic Powers Act; and 

(D) to address the vital national security interests of 

the United States in ensuring energy supplies from the 

Western Hemisphere that are free from the influence of 

any foreign government that would attempt to manipulate 

or disrupt global energy markets. 

(c) DEVELOPMENT.—In developing the strategy under this section, the Secretary of State shall consult with the heads of all 

appropriate United States departments and agencies, including the 

Secretary of Defense, the Director of National Intelligence, the 

Secretary of Homeland Security, the Secretary of the Treasury, 

the Attorney General, and the United States Trade Representative. 

(d) FORM.—The strategy in this section may be submitted in 

classified form, but shall include an unclassified summary of policy 

recommendations to address the growing Iranian threat in the 

Western Hemisphere. 

Recommendations. 

Consultation. 

Plans. 


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126 STAT. 1600 PUBLIC LAW 112–220—DEC. 28, 2012 

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY—H.R. 3783: 

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 158 (2012): 

Sept. 19, considered and passed House. 

Dec. 12, considered and passed Senate, amended. 

Dec. 18, House concurred in Senate amendment. 

Æ 

SEC. 6. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

It is the sense of Congress that the Secretary of State should 

keep the relevant congressional committees continually informed 

on the hostile actions of Iran in the Western Hemisphere. 

SEC. 7. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 

Nothing in this Act shall be construed to limit the rights 

or protections enjoyed by United States citizens under the United 

States Constitution or other Federal law, or to create additional 

authorities for the Federal Government that are contrary to the 

United States Constitution and United States law. 

Approved December 28, 2012. 


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