US President Donald Trump on Sunday called for Iran-related provisions in the planned Russia sanction bill championed by late US Republican Senator Lindsey Graham.
“Republicans should add Iran to the Russian Sanctions Bill. That’s what Lindsey wanted to do, and it was going to happen. IMPORTANT!!! President DJT,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
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Trump on Tuesday said the bill, titled the Sanctioning Russia Act, remained under consideration but hinted at a “good chance” of passing the bill.
What does Graham’s Russia sanctions bill include?
The proposed bill – which received bipartisan support but has yet to pass the Senate – included sanctions and secondary tariffs to pressure Moscow into meaningful peace negotiations over its invasion of Ukraine.
The bill originally proposed tariffs of 500% on the world’s five largest purchasers of Russian oil or natural gas – including China and India – which were reduced to 100% in its current iteration.
The updated version also included provisions for countries that import less than 15% of Russia’s natural gas exports, according to Reuters, which would include Japan, France, Hungary, and Belgium.
It also gives the president broader authority to waive sanctions when deemed in the US national interest.
Axios reported on Thursday that the bill reached 60 co-sponsors – enough to clear Congress.
The bill was championed by Graham and Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal. Graham had been an ardent supporter of Ukraine and visited a secret Ukrainian drone factory days before his passing on July 11, aged 71.
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Concerns over delays
Trump had proposed to include Middle East provisions a week earlier, but Blumenthal had warned of potential delays if discussions were reopened.
“With all due respect to the president, he has approved this bill, and we should move forward with it rather than reopening it to add other potential targets,” Blumenthal told reporters at the time.
“If there are other bills that he wants to propose, we’ll consider them,” he added.
Shortly before his sudden death, Graham said lawmakers had made progress with the White House on a version of the bill acceptable to the Trump administration.
Trump had vowed to impose similar tariffs in August 2025 before his Alaska summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, which yielded no sanctions or ceasefire as planned initially.
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