Title: Iran Hostage Act
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
Iran Hostage Act
This bill imposes sanctions on Iranian persons who are responsible for politically-motivated harassment, abuse, extortion, arrest, trial, conviction, sentencing, or imprisonment of U.S. citizens or lawful permanent resident aliens with significant ties to the United States, regardless of whether such actions occurred in Iran.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3243 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3243

   To impose sanctions with respect to Iranian persons who engage in 
    politically-motivated harassment, abuse, extortion, or extended 
   detention or trial of individuals in Iran, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 19, 2018

  Mr. Cotton introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
             referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To impose sanctions with respect to Iranian persons who engage in 
    politically-motivated harassment, abuse, extortion, or extended 
   detention or trial of individuals in Iran, 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 ``Iran Hostage Act''.

SEC. 2. UNITED STATES POLICY ON HOSTAGE-TAKING BY THE GOVERNMENT OF 
              IRAN.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) Since 1979 the Iranian regime has engaged in various 
        destabilizing activities that undermine the national security 
        of the United States and its allies and partners.
            (2) Those activities include the hostage-taking or 
        prolonged unlawful or wrongful detentions of United States 
        citizens and lawful permanent resident aliens with significant 
        ties to the United States.
            (3) The Iranian regime has detained on fabricated claims a 
        significant number of United States citizens, including Siamak 
        and Baquer Namazi and Xiyue Wang, as well as United States 
        legal permanent resident, Nizar Zakka, in violation of 
        international legal norms.
            (4) The Iranian regime has not provided information on the 
        whereabouts of or assistance in ensuring the prompt and safe 
        return of Robert Levinson, despite repeated promises to do so, 
        after he was kidnapped while visiting Iran's Kish Island on 
        March 9, 2007--making him the longest held hostage in United 
        States history.
            (5) The Iranian regime reportedly uses hostages as leverage 
        against foreign investors to exact business concessions in 
        foreign investment deals.
            (6) The type of hostage-taking enterprise put in place by 
        the Iranian regime is a crime against humanity and a violation 
        of customary international law.
    (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) the United States Government should fully utilize all 
        necessary and appropriate measures to prevent the Iranian 
        regime from engaging in hostage-taking or the prolonged 
        unlawful or wrongful detention of United States citizens or 
        lawful permanent resident aliens with significant ties to the 
        United States, to include--
                    (A) the use of extradition to try and convict those 
                individuals responsible for ordering or controlling the 
                hostage-taking or unlawful or wrongful detention of 
                United States citizens; and
                    (B) the use of the Human Rights Violators and War 
                Crimes Center of the Department of Homeland Security to 
                target such individuals; and
            (2) the United States should encourage its allies and other 
        affected countries to pursue the criminal prosecution and 
        extradition of state and non-state actors in Iran that assist 
        in or benefit from such hostage-taking to prevent such state 
        and non-state actors from engaging in that practice in the 
        future.
    (c) Statement of Policy.--It is the policy of the United States 
Government not to pay ransom for the purpose of securing the release of 
United States citizens or lawful permanent resident aliens taken 
hostage abroad.

SEC. 3. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO IRANIAN PERSONS WHO 
              ENGAGE IN CERTAIN ACTIONS AGAINST UNITED STATES CITIZENS 
              OR LAWFUL PERMANENT RESIDENTS.

    (a) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that the United 
States should coordinate with allies of the United States and other 
allies and partners whose citizens may be subject to politically-
motivated detention or trial in Iran to apply sanctions against Iranian 
persons that are responsible for or complicit in, or responsible for 
ordering, controlling, or otherwise directing, such detention or trial.
    (b) In General.--Title I of the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, 
Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010 (22 U.S.C. 8511 et seq.) is 
amended by inserting after section 105C (22 U.S.C. 8514c) the 
following:

``SEC. 105D. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO IRANIAN PERSONS 
              WHO ENGAGE IN CERTAIN ACTIONS AGAINST UNITED STATES 
              CITIZENS OR LAWFUL PERMANENT RESIDENTS.

    ``(a) In General.--The President shall impose sanctions described 
in section 105(c) with respect to each person on the list required by 
subsection (b).
    ``(b) List of Iranian Persons Who Engage in Certain Actions Against 
United States Citizens or Lawful Permanent Residents.--
            ``(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date 
        of the enactment of the Iran Hostage Act, the President shall 
        submit to the appropriate congressional committees a list of 
        Iranian persons that the President determines are knowingly 
        responsible for or complicit in, or responsible for ordering or 
        otherwise directing, the politically-motivated harassment, 
        abuse, extortion, arrest, trial, conviction, sentencing, or 
        imprisonment of citizens of the United States or lawful 
        permanent resident aliens with significant ties to the United 
        States, regardless of whether such actions occurred in Iran.
            ``(2) Updates of list.--The President shall submit to the 
        appropriate congressional committees an updated list under 
        paragraph (1)--
                    ``(A) each time the President is required to submit 
                an updated list to those committees under section 
                105(b)(2)(A); and
                    ``(B) as new information becomes available.
            ``(3) Form of report; public availability.--
                    ``(A) Form.--The list required by paragraph (1) 
                shall be submitted in unclassified form but may contain 
                a classified annex.
                    ``(B) Public availability.--The unclassified 
                portion of the list required by paragraph (1) shall be 
                made available to the public and posted on the websites 
                of the Department of the Treasury and the Department of 
                State.
    ``(c) Application of Sanctions to Family Members.--
            ``(1) In general.--The President may impose sanctions 
        described in paragraph (2) with respect to each person that is 
        a family member of any person on the list required by 
        subsection (b).
            ``(2) Aliens ineligible for visas, admission, or parole.--
                    ``(A) Visas, admission, or parole.--If the 
                President imposes sanctions described in this 
                paragraph, an alien who the Secretary of State or the 
                Secretary of Homeland Security (or a designee of one of 
                such Secretaries) knows, or has reason to believe, is a 
                family member of any person on the list required by 
                subsection (b) is--
                            ``(i) inadmissible to the United States;
                            ``(ii) ineligible to receive a visa or 
                        other documentation to enter the United States; 
                        and
                            ``(iii) otherwise ineligible to be admitted 
                        or paroled into the United States or to receive 
                        any other benefit under the Immigration and 
                        Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.).
                    ``(B) Current visas revoked.--
                            ``(i) In general.--If the President imposes 
                        sanctions described in this paragraph, the 
                        issuing consular officer, the Secretary of 
                        State, or the Secretary of Homeland Security 
                        (or a designee of one of such Secretaries) 
                        shall revoke any visa or other entry 
                        documentation issued to an alien who is a 
                        family member of any person on the list 
                        required by subsection (b) regardless of when 
                        issued.
                            ``(ii) Effect of revocation.--A revocation 
                        under clause (i)--
                                    ``(I) shall take effect 
                                immediately; and
                                    ``(II) shall automatically cancel 
                                any other valid visa or entry 
                                documentation that is in the alien's 
                                possession.
            ``(3) Exception to comply with united nations headquarters 
        agreement.--Sanctions under paragraph (2) shall not apply to an 
        alien if admitting the alien into the United States is 
        necessary to permit the United States to comply with the 
        Agreement regarding the Headquarters of the United Nations, 
        signed at Lake Success June 26, 1947, and entered into force 
        November 21, 1947, between the United Nations and the United 
        States, or other applicable international obligations.
            ``(4) Definition of family member.--In this subsection, the 
        term `family member' means, with respect to an individual--
                    ``(A) a spouse, child, parent, sibling, grandchild, 
                or grandparent of the individual; and
                    ``(B) a child, parent, or sibling of the spouse of 
                the individual.
    ``(d) Termination of Sanctions.--The provisions of this section 
shall terminate on the date that is 30 days after the date on which the 
President--
            ``(1) determines and certifies to the appropriate 
        congressional committees that the Government of Iran is no 
        longer complicit in or responsible for the wrongful and 
        unlawful detention of United States citizens or lawful 
        permanent resident aliens with significant ties to the United 
        States; and
            ``(2) transmits to the appropriate congressional committees 
        the certification described in section 105(d).''.
    (c) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents for the 
Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 
2010 is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 105C 
the following new item:

``Sec. 105D. Imposition of sanctions with respect to Iranian persons 
                            who engage in certain actions against 
                            United States citizens or lawful permanent 
                            residents.''.
    (d) Amendments to General Provisions.--Section 401 of the 
Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 
2010 (22 U.S.C. 8551) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a), in the matter preceding paragraph 
        (1), by striking ``and 305'' and inserting ``, 105D, and 305''; 
        and
            (2) in subsection (b)(1)--
                    (A) by striking ``or 105C(a)'' and inserting 
                ``105C(a), or 105D(a)''; and
                    (B) by striking ``or 105C(b)'' and inserting 
                ``105C(b), or 105D(b)''.
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