II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 3461 

To impose certain requirements relating to the renegotiation or reentry into 

the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action or other agreement relating 

to Iran’s nuclear program, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 11, 2023 

Mrs. BLACKBURN (for herself, Mr. HOEVEN, Mr. CRAMER, Mr. RUBIO, Mrs. 

HYDE-SMITH, Mr. CRUZ, Mr. TILLIS, and Mr. SCOTT of Florida) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To impose certain requirements relating to the renegotiation 

or reentry into the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action 

or other agreement relating to Iran’s nuclear program, 

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 ‘‘Iran China Account5 ability Act of 2023’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, 

2 signed at Vienna July 14, 2015, provided the Is3 lamic Republic of Iran with more than 

4 $100,000,000,000 in sanctions relief, circumventing 

5 mandatory sanctions imposed pursuant to Acts of 

6 Congress. 

7 (2) In 2016, the United States delivered 

8 $400,000,000 in cash to the Islamic Republic of 

9 Iran. 

10 (3) On May 8, 2018, the United States with11 drew from the disastrous Joint Comprehensive Plan 

12 of Action and implemented a campaign of maximum 

13 economic pressure on the Islamic Republic of Iran, 

14 which will continue until the regime— 

15 (A) ends its nuclear program, its pursuit 

16 of ballistic missiles, and its support of terrorism 

17 and regional destabilization; and 

18 (B) releases all United States hostages. 

19 (4) The Islamic Republic of Iran and the Peo20 ple’s Republic of China signed a 25-year strategic 

21 economic cooperation agreement on March 27, 2021. 

22 The relationship between the 2 countries is a stra23 tegic partnership that aims to advance the influence 

24 of the People’s Republic of China in the Middle 

25 East. 


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1 (5) The strategic economic cooperation agree2 ment involves a transfer of $400,000,000,000 from 

3 the Chinese Communist Party to the Government of 

4 the Islamic Republic of Iran. 

5 (6) The Chinese Communist Party is commit6 ting an ongoing genocide against Uyghur Muslims in 

7 the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and sup8 pressing religious freedom throughout the People’s 

9 Republic of China. 

10 (7) The Chinese Communist Party is sup11 pressing religious freedom by arbitrarily imprisoning 

12 Christians, raiding house churches, and attempting 

13 to shut down houses of worship not endorsed by the 

14 Government of the People’s Republic of China. 

15 (8) The Government of the Islamic Republic of 

16 Iran annually funds $100,000,000 to the terrorist 

17 organization Hamas to continue their mission of 

18 jihad against the people of Israel. 

19 (9) The United States Government— 

20 (A) unequivocally condemns the terrorist 

21 attacks incited by and originating from Israeli 

22 land currently occupied by Hamas; and 

23 (B) recognizes the right of Israel to defend 

24 itself from terrorist attacks incited by Hamas. 


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1 (10) The Government of the Islamic Republic of 

2 Iran is complicit in the October 7, 2023, terrorist 

3 attack against the people of Israel. By openly meet4 ing with senior leaders of Hamas after the terrorist 

5 attack, the Government of the Islamic Republic of 

6 Iran has publicly recognized their involvement such 

7 Hamas-led terrorist attack. 

8 (11) The Government of the Islamic Republic of 

9 Iran is— 

10 (A) perpetrating violence against its own 

11 people, including through the killing of pro12 testers and the persecution of women and reli13 gious minorities; and 

14 (B) involved in severe violations of human 

15 rights throughout the Middle East, including by 

16 supporting the brutal regime of Bashar al17 Assad in Syria. 

18 (12) Since 2021, the People’s Republic of China 

19 has increased illicit oil purchases from the Islamic 

20 Republic of Iran. Such oil purchases would be per21 mitted if the United States lifts sanctions with re22 spect to Islamic Republic of Iran and re-enters the 

23 failed Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. The Peo24 ple’s Republic of China remains the largest oil cus25 tomer of the Islamic Republic of Iran. 


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1 (13) A portion of the oil that the People’s Re2 public of China buys from the Islamic Republic of 

3 Iran and other suppliers is potentially being trans4 shipped to the Democratic People’s Republic of 

5 Korea. 

6 (14) The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action 

7 required that the United Nations arms embargo on 

8 the Islamic Republic of Iran expire in October 2020, 

9 which would have permitted the People’s Republic of 

10 China to sell arms to the Islamic Republic of Iran 

11 and vice versa. 

12 (15) President Joseph R. Biden, Jr., has 

13 sought to rejoin the Joint Comprehensive Plan of 

14 Action or a similar agreement, including by under15 taking talks with the Government of the Islamic Re16 public of Iran and the other parties to the Joint 

17 Comprehensive Plan of Action. 

18 (16) Officials in the administration of President 

19 Biden have acknowledged that rejoining a nuclear 

20 agreement with the Islamic Republic of Iran would 

21 entail an easing of the economic sanctions stipulated 

22 by the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. 


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1 SEC. 3. LIMITATIONS WITH RESPECT TO ANY IRAN NU2 CLEAR AGREEMENT. 

3 (a) LIMITATIONS PRIOR TO ENTERING INTO NEGO4 TIATIONS.—No Federal funds may be obligated or ex5 pended to enter into any negotiation with the Government 

6 of the Islamic Republic of Iran with respect to an Iran 

7 nuclear agreement until the President certifies to Con8 gress that— 

9 (1) the Government of the Islamic Republic of 

10 Iran has terminated— 

11 (A) all agreements involving the transfer of 

12 funds to such Government from the People’s 

13 Republic of China; and 

14 (B) all agreements involving a strategic 

15 military or security partnership with the Peo16 ple’s Republic of China; 

17 (2) the Government of the People’s Republic of 

18 China has ceased to incarcerate Uyghur individuals 

19 in concentration camps in the Xinjiang Uyghur Au20 tonomous Region; 

21 (3) the Government of the Islamic Republic of 

22 Iran has terminated all ties and transfers of cash to 

23 Iranian proxy forces, including Hamas; and 

24 (4) the Government of the Islamic Republic of 

25 Iran has verified the destruction of any and all 

26 chemical weapons, materials, and infrastructure. 


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1 (b) REQUIREMENT FOR CONTENTS OF AGREE2 MENT.—No Federal funds may be obligated or expended 

3 for United States entry into any Iran nuclear agreement, 

4 and the President may not take any action (including in 

5 the form of an agenda, agreement, platform, or plan) to 

6 carry out the goals of such an agreement, unless such 

7 agreement certifies the destruction of any and all Iranian 

8 nuclear and missile capabilities, weapons, infrastructure, 

9 chemical weapons, and offensive cyber activity. 

10 (c) RATIFICATION REQUIRED.—Notwithstanding any 

11 other provision of law, any Iran nuclear agreement shall 

12 be deemed a treaty subject to the requirement that the 

13 Senate provide its advice and consent pursuant to article 

14 II, section 2, clause 2 of the Constitution of the United 

15 States. The President may not take any action (including 

16 in the form of an agenda, agreement, platform, or plan) 

17 to carry out the goals of such an agreement until the Sen18 ate has adopted a resolution of advice and consent with 

19 respect to that agreement. 

20 (d) REPORT REQUIRED.—The Secretary of State 

21 shall submit to Congress, prior to the submission of a pro22 posed Iran nuclear agreement to the Senate for its advice 

23 and consent in accordance with subsection (c), a report 

24 setting forth the manner and extent to which the negotia25 tion and terms of such proposed Iran nuclear agreement 


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1 comply with each limitation and requirement under this 

2 section. 

3 (e) IRAN NUCLEAR AGREEMENT DEFINED.—In this 

4 section, the term ‘‘Iran nuclear agreement’’ means— 

5 (1) the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, 

6 signed at Vienna July 14, 2015, by the Islamic Re7 public of Iran and by the People’s Republic of 

8 China, France, Germany, the Russian Federation, 

9 the United Kingdom, and the United States, with 

10 the High Representative of the European Union for 

11 Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and all imple12 menting materials and agreements related to the 

13 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action; and 

14 (2) any successor or other agreement exchang15 ing relief from international sanctions for restric16 tions on the nuclear program of the Islamic Republic 

17 of Iran. 

Æ 


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