[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 784 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. RES. 784
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.
_______________________________________________________________________
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
Resolved, 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.
<all>