Stop Iranian Drones Act of 2021
Bill: S.3421 | Sponsor: Sen. Menendez, Robert (D-NJ)
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
Stop Iranian Drones Act of 2021
This bill expands existing provisions requiring sanctions against individuals or entities that provide certain types of weapons to Iran. Specifically, the bill modifies the provisions by adding unmanned combat aerial vehicles to the list of weapons covered by the sanctions.

To clarify that section 107 of the Countering America's Adversaries 
Through Sanctions Act applies sanctions with respect to unmanned combat 
aerial vehicles following a 2019 change by the United Nations providing 
additional clarity to the United Nations Register of Conventional Arms.

    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 ``Stop Iranian Drones Act of 2021''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) A United Nations General Assembly report entitled, 
        ``Continuing operation of the United Nations Register of 
        Conventional Arms and its further development'' (document A/68/
        140) and dated July 15, 2013, states, in paragraph 45, the 
        following: ``The Group noted the discussion of the 2006 Group 
        that category IV already covered armed unmanned aerial vehicles 
        and of the 2009 Group on a proposal to include a new category 
        for such vehicles. The Group reviewed proposals for providing 
        greater clarity to category IV. . . .''.
            (2) Section 107 of the Countering America's Adversaries 
        Through Sanctions Act (22 U.S.C. 9406) requires that the 
        President impose sanctions on any person that the President 
        determines ``knowingly engages in any activity that materially 
        contributes to the supply, sale, or transfer directly or 
        indirectly to or from Iran, or for the use in or benefit of 
        Iran, of any battle tanks, armored combat vehicles, large 
        caliber artillery systems, combat aircraft, attack helicopters, 
        warships, missiles or missile systems, as defined for the 
        purpose of the United Nations Register of Conventional Arms, or 
        related materiel, including spare parts''.
            (3) In 2019, the United Nations formally changed the title 
        of category IV of the United Nations Register of Conventional 
        Arms to ``Combat aircraft and unmanned combat aerial vehicles 
        (UCAV)''.

SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY.

    It is the policy of the United States to prevent Iran and terrorist 
and militia groups aligned with Iran from acquiring unmanned aerial 
vehicles, including commercially available component parts that can be 
used in attacks against United States persons and allies and partners 
of the United States.

SEC. 4. AMENDMENT TO COUNTERING AMERICA'S ADVERSARIES THROUGH SANCTIONS 
              ACT RELATING TO SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO IRAN.

    (a) In General.--Section 107 of the Countering America's 
Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (22 U.S.C. 9406) is amended--
            (1) in the section heading, by striking ``enforcement of 
        arms embargos'' and inserting ``sanctions with respect to major 
        conventional arms''; and
            (2) in subsection (a)(1), by inserting ``or unmanned combat 
        aerial vehicles'' after ``combat aircraft''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents for the Countering 
America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act is amended by striking the 
item relating to section 107 and inserting the following:

``Sec. 107. Sanctions with respect to major conventional arms.''.
    (c) Effective Date; Applicability.--The amendments made by this 
section shall--
            (1) take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act; 
        and
            (2) apply with respect to any person that knowingly 
        engages, before, on, or after such date of enactment, in any 
        activity that materially contributes to the supply, sale, or 
        transfer of an unmanned combat aerial vehicle (as defined by 
        the United Nations Register of Conventional Arms)--
                    (A) directly or indirectly to or from Iran; or
                    (B) for the use in or benefit of Iran.
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