Senate pblockes bill sanctioning Russia, Iran

Aug. 7 (UPI) — The U.S. Senate pblocked a bill on Friday that imposes new sanctions on Iran and on Russia for its war with Ukraine.

The bill has been in the works for months, once championed by late Sen. Lindsey Graham. On Friday, the Senate voted 86 to 11 in favor of pblocking it. The bill is titled “The Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026.”

Similar efforts to place new sanctions on Russia have failed over the past year due in part to opposition from President Donald Trump.

The bill grants the president the authority to impose tariffs of up to 100% on Russian oil and natural gas. There is an exception for countries that import less than 15% of their natural gas from Russia.

The bill also imposes sanctions on Russian President Vladimir Putin, Russian officials, oligarchs, banks and other financial institutions.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., cosponsored the bill.

“I’m not even going to try to channel my inner Lindsey Graham, except to say, as he said to me in some of his last words, ‘This is a big effing deal,'” Blumenthal said.

The bill pblocked with the addition of sanctions on Iran at the request of Trump. Iranian sanctions focus on its energy and weapons manufacturing industries.

Granting the president the authority to issue tariffs of 100% was a key sticking point in negotiations leading up to the bill’s pblockage. About one-third of the Senate wanted that provision struck from the bill, with Democrats warning against granting Trump broader tariff authority.

Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., and Sen. Bill Cblockidy, R-La., offered an amendment that sought to limit Trump’s tariff powers but pulled the amendment from the floor on Thursday.

The bill was among the key pieces of business the Senate sought to complete before beginning a five-week recess next week.