I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2117 
To require the President to make a determination with respect to the applica-
tion of sanctions with respect to certain officials of the Government 
of Iran, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 19, 2021 
Mr. WILSON of South Carolina (for himself, Mr. STEUBE, and Mr. BANKS) 
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for 
a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the com-
mittee concerned 
A BILL 
To require the President to make a determination with re-
spect to the application of sanctions with respect to 
certain officials of the Government of Iran, and for other 
purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Iran Human Rights 
and Accountability Act of 2021’’. 
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SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) In response to protests that broke out on 
November 15, 2019, the Government of Iran blocked 
almost all internet traffic in Iran and used deadly 
force against nonviolent protesters, killing approxi-
mately 1,500 persons, according to the Department 
of State’s 2019 Human Rights Report. 
(2) The Government of Iran is regularly en-
gaged in widespread torture, extrajudicial killings, 
the prosecution of journalists, the taking of political 
prisoners, severe restrictions on the freedom of reli-
gion, and the severe repression of women and reli-
gious minorities. 
(3) The Government of Iran is involved in the 
unlawful recruitment of child soldiers by government 
actors to support the brutal Assad regime in Syria, 
according to the Department of State’s 2019 
Human Rights Report. The Government of Iran is 
also altering the demographic composition of Syria. 
SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 
It shall be the policy of the United States to— 
(1) support democracy and human rights in 
Iran, including the robust exercise by Iranians of the 
rights to free speech and assembly and where pos-
sible to support the free flow of information into 
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Iran and make it easier for Iranian citizens to com-
municate with one another and with the outside 
world; 
(2) hold the Government of Iran accountable 
for severe human rights abuses against its own peo-
ple and the peoples of the Middle East, including the 
people of Syria, Iraq, Yemen, and Lebanon; and 
(3) condemn any and all attacks on protesters 
by the Government of Iran or its sponsored militias. 
SEC. 4. DETERMINATION WITH RESPECT TO APPLICATION 
OF SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO CERTAIN 
OFFICIALS OF THE GOVERNMENT OF IRAN. 
(a) DETERMINATION WITH RESPECT TO THE IMPO-
SITION OF SANCTIONS.—Not later than 180 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the President shall sub-
mit to the appropriate congressional committees a deter-
mination, including a detailed justification, of whether any 
person listed in subsection (b) meets the criteria for— 
(1) the application of sanctions with respect to 
a person pursuant to section 105 of the Comprehen-
sive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment 
Act of 2010 (22 U.S.C. 8514); or 
(2) the application of sanctions pursuant to Ex-
ecutive Order 13553 (50 U.S.C. 1701 note; relating 
to blocking property of certain persons with respect 
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(b) FORM.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The report required by sub-
section (a) shall be submitted in unclassified form, 
but may contain a classified annex if necessary. 
(2) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION.— 
The unclassified portion of such report shall be 
made available on a publicly available internet 
website of the Federal Government. 
SEC. 6. REPORT ON HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES IN IRAN IN RE-
SPONSE TO THE PROTESTS IN IRAN SINCE 
2017. 
(a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con-
gress that it is imperative the United States Government 
should hold local Iranian law enforcement forces, Iran’s 
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) officials, and 
other Iranian security officials accountable for the violent 
crackdown on protests in Iran since 2017, especially since 
protests in Iran have become geographically widespread 
and not limited solely to major urban centers. 
(b) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, 
in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, shall 
submit to the appropriate congressional committees a re-
port that includes the following: 
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(1) A list, by province and city, of local Iranian 
law enforcement forces, IRGC officials, and other 
Iranian security officials responsible for the violent 
crackdown on protests in Iran since 2017. 
(2) A list of judges and judicial officials, by 
province and city, responsible for gross violations of 
human rights in Iran, including facilitating the un-
just detainment of protesters and depriving them of 
their right to free speech. 
(3) A description of efforts by the United 
States to assist Iranians to access the internet dur-
ing periods in which the Government of Iran has se-
verely limited such access. 
(c) FORM.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The report required by sub-
section (b) shall be submitted in unclassified form, 
but may contain a classified annex if necessary. 
(2) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION.— 
The unclassified portion of such report shall be 
made available on a publicly available internet 
website of the Federal Government. 
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SEC. 7. DETERMINATION WITH RESPECT TO CRIMES 
AGAINST HUMANITY COMMITTED BY THE 
GOVERNMENT OF IRAN AND ITS SPONSORED 
MILITIAS IN SYRIA AND IRAQ. 
(a) DETERMINATION.—The Secretary of State shall 
make a determination with respect to each of the fol-
lowing: 
(1) Whether Iran, Hezbollah, and Iranian- 
backed militias’ sectarian cleansing campaigns, espe-
cially in the Damascus suburbs and particularly 
against the Sunni Muslim population of Syria, can 
be considered systematic and widespread and there-
fore constitute an offense described in section 
1091(a) of title 18, United States Code. 
(2) Whether Iran and Iranian backed militias’ 
use of violence against peaceful protesters in Iraq in 
November 2019 and December 2019 constitutes a 
war crime (as such term is defined in section 
2441(c) of title 18, United States Code). 
(3) Whether excessive use of violence by forces 
of the Government of Iran against protesters in Iran 
in November 2019 constitutes an offense described 
in section 1091(a) of title 18, United States Code. 
(b) REPORT.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec-
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retary of State shall submit to the appropriate con-
gressional committees a report that contains each 
determination made under subsection (a). 
(2) FORM.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—The report required by 
paragraph (1) shall be submitted in unclassified 
form, but may contain a classified annex if nec-
essary. 
(B) PUBLIC
AVAILABILITY
OF
INFORMA-
TION.—The unclassified portion of such report 
shall be made available on a publicly available 
internet website of the Federal Government. 
SEC. 8. APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES DE-
FINED. 
In this Act, the term ‘‘appropriate congressional com-
mittees’’ means— 
(1) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the 
Committee on Financial Services of the House of 
Representatives; and 
(2) the Committee on Foreign Relations and 
the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Af-
fairs of the Senate. 
Æ 
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