(1) The United States has vital political, eco-
nomic, and security interests in the Western Hemi-
sphere. 
(2) Iran is pursuing cooperation with Latin 
American countries by signing economic and security 
agreements in order to create a network of diplo-
matic and economic relationships to lessen the blow 
of international sanctions and oppose Western at-
tempts to constrict its ambitions. 
(3) According to the Department of State, 
Hezbollah, with Iran as its state sponsor, is consid-
ered 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 Iran’s IRGC’s Qods 
Force have been working in concert with Hezbollah 
since the 1990s. 
(4) The IRGC’s Qods Force has a long history 
of supporting Hezbollah’s military, paramilitary, and 
terrorist activities, providing it with guidance, fund-
ing, 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. 
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(5) The IRGC’s Qods Force stations operatives 
in foreign embassies, charities, and religious and cul-
tural institutions to foster relationships, often build-
ing on existing socio-economic ties with the well es-
tablished Shia Diaspora, and recent years have wit-
nessed an increased presence in Latin America. 
(6) According to the Department of Defense, 
the IRGC and its Qods Force were involved in or be-
hind 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 direct Iranian government sup-
port of Hezbollah activities in the Tri-Border Area 
of Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay, and in the past 
decade, Iran has dramatically increased its diplo-
matic missions to Venezuela, Bolivia, Nicaragua, Ec-
uador, Argentina, and Brazil. Iran has built 17 cul-
tural centers in Latin America, and it currently 
maintains 11 embassies, up from six in 2005. 
(8) Iran has used its proxies in Latin America 
to raise revenues through illicit activities, including 
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drug and arms trafficking, counterfeiting, money 
laundering, forging travel documents, pirating soft-
ware and music, and providing haven and assistance 
to other terrorists transiting the region. 
(9) According to the Department of Defense, 
Iran provides support for Hamas despite ideological 
differences, and there is concern that Hamas is ac-
tive in the Western Hemisphere, most notably in Ca-
racas. 
(10) Bolivia, Cuba, Ecuador, Nicaragua, and 
Venezuela expressed their intention to assist Iran in 
breaking international sanctions signing a statement 
supporting Iran’s nuclear activities and announcing 
at a 2010 joint press conference in Tehran their de-
termination to ‘‘continue and expand their economic 
ties to Iran’’ with confidence that ‘‘Iran can give a 
crushing response to the threats and sanctions im-
posed by the West and imperialism’’. 
(11) Sophisticated narco-tunneling reportedly 
resembling the types used by Hezbollah in Lebanon 
have been discovered along the United States-Mexico 
border, and arrested Mexican gang members enter-
ing the United States allegedly with Farsi tattoos 
have led to concerns about Hezbollah’s ability to co-
operate with Mexican drug cartels to utilize smug-
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gling techniques and routes in order to transport 
drugs and people into the United States. 
(12) Since the fall of 2008, at least 111 sus-
pects of a Hezbollah-linked international network of 
drug traffickers and money launderers have been ar-
rested in Drug Enforcement Administration oper-
ations. 
(13) In October 2011, the United States 
charged 
two 
men, 
including 
Iranian-American 
Manssor Arbabsiar, a member of the IRGC’s Qods 
Force, on conspiracy to murder a foreign official 
using a weapon of mass destruction in an act of ter-
rorism. Arbabsiar traveled to Mexico with the ex-
press intent to hire ‘‘someone in the narcotics busi-
ness’’ to carry out the assassination of the Saudi 
Arabian Ambassador in the United States. 
(14) The Obama Administration’s 2011 Strat-
egy for Counterterrorism does not adequately ad-
dress Iran’s growing influence and operations in the 
Western Hemisphere. 
SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 
It shall be the policy of the United States to use all 
elements of national power to counter Iran’s growing pres-
ence and hostile activity in the Western Hemisphere. 
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SEC. 4. REQUIREMENT OF A STRATEGY TO ADDRESS IRAN’S 
GROWING 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 submit to the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 
House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign 
Relations of the Senate a strategy to address Iran’s grow-
ing presence and activity in the Western Hemisphere 
that— 
(1) defines and outlines the presence and activi-
ties of Iran, the IRGC, its Qods Force, Hezbollah, 
and Hamas in the Western Hemisphere, including 
information about their leaders, goals, objectives, 
and areas of influence; 
(2) provides an assessment of the terrain, popu-
lation, ports, foreign firms, airports, borders, media 
outlets, financial centers, foreign embassies, char-
ities, religious and cultural centers, and income-gen-
erating activities in the Western Hemisphere utilized 
by Iran, the IRGC, its Qods Force, Hezbollah, and 
Hamas; 
(3) details operations of Iran, the IRGC, its 
Qods Force, Hezbollah, and Hamas within the 
United States, including information on financial 
networks, trafficking activities, and safe havens; 
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(A) with respect to the United States–Mex-
ico border, in coordination with the Government 
of Mexico and the Secretary of Homeland Secu-
rity, a plan to address resources, technology, 
and infrastructure to create a secure Southwest 
Border and prevent operatives from Iran, the 
IRGC, its Qods Force, Hezbollah, or Hamas 
from entering the United States; 
(B) within Latin American countries, a 
multi-agency action plan including the develop-
ment of strong rule-of-law institutions to pro-
vide security for the people and businesses of 
such countries, a counterterrorism and counter- 
radicalization plan within communities to iso-
late Iran, the IRGC, its Qods Force, Hezbollah, 
and Hamas from their sources of financial sup-
port, and combat terrorist activity; and 
(C) incorporation of all of the elements of 
national power, including diplomatic, economic, 
and security elements, designed to counter 
Iran’s growing presence and hostile activity in 
the Western Hemisphere. 
(b) DEVELOPMENT.—In developing the strategy 
under this section, the Secretary of State shall consult 
with the heads of all appropriate United States depart-
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ments and agencies, including the Secretary of Defense, 
the Director of National Intelligence, the Secretary of 
Homeland Security, the Secretary of the Treasury, and 
the Attorney General. 
(c) FORM.—The strategy under this section shall be 
submitted in unclassified form but may include a classified 
annex. 
SEC. 5. REPORT. 
Not later than one year after the submission of the 
strategy required under section 4, the Secretary of State 
shall submit to the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 
House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign 
Relations of the Senate a report on the progress made to-
ward the implementation of the strategy and a description 
and evaluation toward achieving the policy objective de-
scribed in section 3. 
SEC. 6. FUNDING FOR DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTA-
TION OF STRATEGY TO COUNTER IRAN IN 
THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE. 
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, funds 
made available to any office or bureau of the Department 
of State for counter-terrorism programs are authorized to 
be made available to carrry out this Act. 
Æ 
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