[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 125 (Wednesday, July 31, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5686-S5687]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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SENATE RESOLUTION 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

  Mr. GRAHAM submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
the Committee on Foreign Relations:

                              S. Res. 784

       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

[[Page S5687]]

     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.

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