A resolution deterring Hezbollah and the Islamic Republic of Iran for their repeated and continued acts of terrorism against the State of Israel and the United States and urging the United States to use all diplomatic tools available to hold them accountable for such actions.

Bill: 118-sres-784
Sponsor: full_name: Sen. Graham, Lindsey [R-SC]
Introduced: 2024-07-31
Policy area: International Affairs
Latest action: action_date: 2024-07-31
text: Referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations. (text: CR S5686-5687)

Summaries:

tv_txt: III 118th CONGRESS 2d Session S. RES. 784 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES July 31, 2024 Mr. Graham submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations RESOLUTION Deterring Hezbollah and the Islamic Republic of Iran for their repeated and continued acts of terrorism against the State of Israel and the United States and urging the United States to use all diplomatic tools available to hold them accountable for such actions.

Whereas, in 1982, the Lebanon-based, radical-Shia terrorist group Hizballah (referred to in this preamble as Hezbollah ), which translates to The Party of God , was founded to violently advocate for global Shia empowerment through acts of terror; Whereas Hezbollah’s founding manifesto states, The American threat is not local or restricted to a particular region, and as such, confrontation of such a threat must be international as well , resulting in the terrorist organization conducting numerous attacks against Israeli and Western targets; Whereas, since its inception, Hezbollah has received significant support from the Islamic Republic of Iran, which is the largest state sponsor of terrorism in the world; Whereas, on April 18, 1983, Hezbollah attacked the United States Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, killing 63 American and Lebanese employees and citizens; Whereas, on October 23, 1983, Hezbollah attacked the Marine Corps barracks in Beirut, Lebanon, killing 241 United States military personnel, including 220 United States Marines, 18 United States Navy sailors, and 3 United States Army soldiers, resulting in the single deadliest day for the United States Marine Corps since the Battle of Iwo Jima during World War II; Whereas, on September 20, 1984, Hezbollah attacked the United States Embassy Annex in Beirut, Lebanon, killing 23 American and Lebanese employees and citizens; Whereas, on February 16, 1985, Hezbollah stated that their violent actions would only cease when Israel is obliterated and that Hezbollah vigorously condemns all plans for negotiation with Israel ; Whereas, on June 14, 1985, Hezbollah hijacked Trans World Airlines (TWA) Flight 847 and immediately demanded to know the identity of those with Jewish-sounding names , holding hostage the plane and many TWA employees and passengers for 17 days; Whereas, in 1992, Hassan Nasrallah assumed the position of Secretary-General of Hezbollah and has overseen their regime of terror ever since; Whereas, on March 17, 1992, with the backing of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Hezbollah detonated a truck bomb at the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina, killing 29 people and wounding more than 240 other people; Whereas, on July 18, 1994, with the backing of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Hezbollah attacked the Buenos Aires, Argentina, headquarters of the Argentine-Israelite Mutual Association, a Jewish community center, killing 85 people and wounding more than 300 other people, which is the deadliest terrorist attack in the history of Argentina; Whereas, on October 8, 1997, Hezbollah was designated as a foreign terrorist organization pursuant to section 219(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1189(a) ); Whereas, before September 11, 2001, Hezbollah was responsible for more deaths of United States citizens than any other terrorist organization; Whereas, on September 23, 2001, Hezbollah was designated a Specially Designated Global Terrorist entity pursuant to Executive Order 13224 ( 50 U.S.C. 1701 note; relating to blocking property and prohibiting transactions with persons who commit, threaten to commit, or support terrorism); Whereas, on July 12, 2006, Hezbollah abducted 2 Israeli soldiers, which resulted in a 34-day war between Israel and Hezbollah; Whereas, according to the Department of State's Country Reports on Terrorism 2021: Iran, Since the end of the 2006 Israeli-Hizballah conflict, Iran has supplied Hizballah in Lebanon with thousands of rockets, missiles, and small arms in violation of UNSCR 1701 ; Whereas, in 2010, the Department of State labeled Hezbollah as the most technically capable terrorist group in the world and a continued security threat to the United States ; Whereas, on July 18, 2012, Hezbollah detonated a bus bomb in Burgas, Bulgaria, killing 5 Israeli citizens and 1 Bulgarian citizen; Whereas, since October 7, 2023, Hezbollah has increased its attacks against northern Israel, resulting in the deaths of Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers and Israeli civilians and the displacement of tens of thousands of residents in northern Israel; Whereas, since October 8, 2023, Hezbollah has increased the number of rockets launched into Israel, resulting in the deaths of at least 22 IDF soldiers and 24 Israeli civilians; Whereas, on November 15, 2023, the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Christopher Wray, testified before the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives that FBI arrests in recent years also indicate that Hizballah has tried to seed operatives, establish infrastructure, and engage in spying here domestically—raising our concern that they may be contingency planning for future operations in the United States ; Whereas, on February 5, 2024, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence submitted its annual report pursuant to section 108B of the National Security Act of 1947 (commonly known as the Annual Threat Assessment ), which concluded Hizballah will continue to develop its global terrorist capabilities as a complement to the group’s growing conventional military capabilities in the region…[and] Hizballah probably will continue to conduct provocative actions such as rocket launches against Israel ; Whereas, on June 19, 2024, Hassan Nasrallah threatened European Union member Cyprus, stating The Cypriot Government must be warned that opening Cypriot airports and bases for the Israeli enemy to target Lebanon means that the Cypriot Government has become part of the war and the resistance (Hezbollah) will deal with it as part of the war ; Whereas, on July 27, 2024, Hezbollah launched a rocket at the town of Majdal Shams in northern Israel, killing at least 12 children and teenagers, and wounding dozens more, resulting in the single deadliest Hezbollah attack on northern Israel since fighting began there in October; Whereas Hezbollah has been deeply involved in training and continuously providing weapons to Houthi militants in Yemen and has reportedly assisted the Houthi campaign against international shipping in the Red Sea; Whereas Hassan Nasrallah has repeatedly vowed to destroy Israel, stating [Israel] is an aggressive, illegal and illegitimate entity, which has no future in our land. Its destination is manifested in our motto, Death to Israel ; Whereas the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Mission to the United Nations has echoed the statements of Hassan Nasrallah, stating, [S]hould [Israel] embark on full-scale military aggression, an obliterating war will ensue. All options, [including] the full involvement of all Resistance Fronts, are on the table. ; Whereas it has been reported that Hezbollah is using Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport in Beirut, Lebanon, to store ballistic missiles, unguided artillery rockets, laser-guided anti-tank guided missiles, and a highly explosive and toxic white powder known as RDX ; Whereas Hezbollah reportedly has at least 150,000 missiles in its arsenal, some of which are precision-guided, which could be launched at Israel without warning and would overwhelm the Iron Dome air defense system and greatly expand the current regional conflict; Whereas Israel’s Minister of Defense, Yoav Gallant, previously stated the Islamic Republic of Iran provides Hezbollah $700,000,000 a year in funding and knowledge and strategic weaponry ; Whereas former Special Representative for Iran, Brian Hook, previously stated, Hezbollah has been Iran’s favorite child. Their favorite son from the beginning. And it’s a model that they try to replicate around the Middle East … Seventy percent of Hezbollah’s budget comes from Iran and that comes to about $700,000,000 per year ; Whereas the Department of the Treasury, in its 2018 report, National Strategy for Combating Terrorist and Other Illicit Financing, concluded that— (1) Hizballah continues to present a significant terrorism threat to … U.S., Israeli, and Saudi Arabian interests ; (2) Hizballah receives the majority of its funding, upwards of $700 million a year, from Iran, which is the world’s foremost state sponsor of terrorism ; and (3) Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC–QF) continues to provide hundreds of millions of dollars a year to Iran’s terrorist proxies, such as Hizballah and the Assad regime in Syria ; Whereas the Department of State, in its 2020 report, Outlaw Regime: A Chronicle of Iran’s Destructive Activities, concluded In Lebanon, Iranian support has been foundational to Hizballah since its emergence in the 1980s as the first organization to employ the widespread and regular use of suicide bombers. In addition to providing as much as $700 million in funds annually, Iran has long been one of the primary suppliers of Hizballah’s military technology, enabling the group’s transformation into a quasi-conventional force. ; Whereas the Department of State, in its annual country reports on terrorism required under section 140 of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1988 and 1989 ( 22 U.S.C. 2656f ), concluded that— (1) Iran’s annual financial backing to Hizballah—which has been estimated to be hundreds of millions of dollars annually—accounts for the overwhelming majority of the group’s annual budget ; (2) Iran has provided hundreds of millions of dollars in support of Hizballah and trained thousands of its fighters at camps in Iran ; (3) Iran continues to provide Hizballah with most of its funding, training, weapons, and explosives, as well as political, diplomatic, monetary, and organizational aid ; and (4) Israeli security officials and politicians [have] expressed concerns that Iran [is] supplying Hizballah with advanced weapons systems and technologies, as well as assisting the group in creating infrastructure that would permit it to produce its own rockets and missiles, thereby threatening Israel from Lebanon and Syria ; Whereas the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, in an assessment published in accordance with the Iran Nuclear Weapons Capability and Terrorism Monitoring Act of 2022 ( 22 U.S.C. 8701 note; Public Law 117–263 ), concluded, Iran provides aid to Lebanese Hizballah … to build and strengthen a network which Tehran intends to leverage to advance its interests : Now, therefore, be it

That the Senate— (1) affirms that any escalation by Hezbollah against the State of Israel that leads to a major confrontation will be viewed as an attack carried out and executed by the Islamic Republic of Iran; (2) asserts that efforts to deter Hezbollah and the Islamic Republic of Iran are most credible when the President keeps all options on the table, including the use of military force, in accordance with constitutional processes; (3) recognizes that the Islamic Republic of Iran and Hezbollah will be responsible for any adverse impacts on the people of Lebanon that result from an attack on the State of Israel by Hezbollah; (4) condemns Hezbollah and the Islamic Republic of Iran for their repeated acts of terrorism and urges Congress and the President to use all diplomatic tools and power projection capabilities to hold both parties accountable for their actions; (5) denounces all comments made by Hezbollah and the Islamic Republic of Iran, including comments by the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Mission to the United Nations, which call for the obliteration and destruction of the State of Israel; and (6) supports the State of Israel as it continues to defend its sovereignty against attacks from the Islamic Republic of Iran, Hezbollah, and all other Iranian proxies.