Travel of Qasem Soleimani and arming of Iranian proxies throughout the Middle East a direct challenge to Obama Administration promises, says Foreign Affairs Chairman

U.S. Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, today made public a letter to President Obama expressing his deep concern with recent reports that the head of Iran’s Qods Force, Major General Qasem Soleimani, traveled to Russia in violation of United Nations Security Council sanctions, and called for swift action.  The trip reportedly took place just days after the nuclear agreement with Iran was finalized.  The letter notes that the reported travel of this deadly terrorist is the latest report of countries failing to enforce U.N. sanctions against Iran and that Iran continues to arm its allies in the region in violation of a U.N. embargo.

In the letter to President Obama, Chairman Royce wrote:  “I appreciate that U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power has said that the U.S. is investigating whether this was a violation of United Nations Security Council sanctions.  But this should not be a difficult matter to determine.  Indeed, initial press reports included flight numbers and dates of Soleimani’s reported travel.  If he did travel to Moscow, there must be strong and immediate action.”

The signed letter is available HERE.

The text of the letter follows:

August 11, 2015

The President
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20500

Dear Mr. President:

I am deeply concerned over reports that the head of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps’ Qods Force, Major General Qasem Soleimani, recently travelled to Russia in violation of United Nations Security Council sanctions.  Public reports suggest that this deadly terrorist arrived in Moscow on July 24th – just 10 days after the Iran nuclear agreement was announced – and held meetings with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and President Vladimir Putin.

As you know, U.N. Security Council sanctions remain in effect, and will not be lifted until Iran is certified as completing its nuclear commitments under the final agreement.  Member states are still under an obligation to enforce the U.N. travel ban on Soleimani and freeze his assets.  Indeed, these sanctions also apply to individuals or companies acting on his behalf.

I appreciate that U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power has said that the U.S. is investigating whether this was a violation of United Nations Security Council sanctions.  But this should not be a difficult matter to determine.  Indeed, initial press reports included flight numbers and dates of Soleimani’s reported travel.  If he did travel to Moscow, there must be strong and immediate action.

Unfortunately, this is just the latest report of countries failing to enforce U.N. sanctions against Iran.  In June, it was reported that there had been a noticeable decrease in reports from U.N. member states of Iranian violations of U.N. sanctions.  The reports suggested that some countries were refraining from reporting violations to avoid undermining the then ongoing nuclear negotiations.

Additionally, there have been multiple reports of Iranian weapons shipments to Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, and Yemen, as well as Hezbollah and Hamas militants, in violation of a U.N. embargo.  It was even reported that not a single country referred those arms shipments to the Security Council’s Iran sanctions committee in line with standard procedure for suspected breaches.

In light of these recent events, I respectfully request the following information:

  • A determination of whether the travel of Soleimani took place, its purpose, and whether it was in violation of United Nations sanctions; and
  • A list of all referrals of violations of United Nations Security Council sanctions to the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1737 (2006) since September 2013.

Since the Iran agreement was signed, senior Administration officials have testified that there would be no relaxing of sanctions against Iran for terrorist activity.  The reported free travel of Qasem Soleimani and the continuing arming of Iranian proxies throughout the Middle East is a direct challenge to that commitment.

Thank you for your attention to this request, and I look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

EDWARD R. ROYCE
Chairman

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