The United Nations General Assembly rolls into New York next week, and with it comes an uncomfortable reality: representatives tied to Iran’s ruling clerics are expected to attend. For Republicans in Congress, that is a red line they are not willing to ignore.
Lawmakers have introduced a measure aimed squarely at blocking Iranian officials who are sanctioned or appointed by the Supreme Leader from stepping foot on American soil. This is not about diplomacy for diplomacy’s sake; it is about national security and enforcing consequences for a regime that sponsors terror abroad.
The proposed bill, led by Senator Ted Cruz, would prevent those deemed cronies of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei from coming to the U.S. even if they arrive as U.N. delegates. Republicans backing the measure argue that the United States should not provide a platform for agents of a hostile, violent regime.
[Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX] introduced the Strengthening Entry Visa Enforcement and Restrictions (SEVER) Act on Thursday, which would prohibit Iranian officials from entering the U.S. as representatives to the U.N. if they are sanctioned for backing or were appointed by the office of the Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
“The Iranian regime and the corrupt officials who run it are responsible for the murder, injury, and kidnapping of thousands of Americans,” Cruz said in a statement. “The Ayatollah means it when he chants ‘Death to America,’ and the United States has developed and imposed sanctions to counter the threats posed by him and those directly around him.”
“If you are a crony of the Ayatollah who has been sanctioned by the U.S., it means that you pose a threat to the safety and security of Americans, and you should not be allowed on American soil – let alone to engage in diplomacy at the United Nations General Assembly,” he added.
Senators Rick Scott, Ashley Moody, Tom Cotton, John Barrasso, and Joni Ernst are among those cosponsoring the SEVER Act in the Senate. That coalition sends a clear signal: Republicans see this as common-sense security policy, not partisan theater. It’s aimed at protecting Americans from the real-world consequences of Iran’s malign activities.
Expect Iran’s nuclear ambitions and proxy warfare to dominate many of the high-level UN conversations. The country has a long list of offenses — from funding militia groups to assassination plots — that make granting its officials any kind of diplomatic free pass dangerous. The SEVER Act is designed to close that loophole.
There is a parallel effort in the House, reflecting a unified GOP stance that America must draw firmer lines with Tehran. Representative Claudia Tenney has introduced a companion bill and spoken bluntly about who should be barred. Her words underline what many Americans already suspect about giving legitimacy to tyrants.
“[Iran’s] President Masoud Pezeshkian, like his predecessors, is part of a regime that funds terrorism, destabilizes the Middle East, brutalizes the Iranian people, and has actively targeted Americans. No government official that is part of this despotic regime should ever be permitted to set foot on American soil to spread propaganda or legitimize tyranny,” Tenney said in a statement.
“The SEVER Act will give President Trump the authority to ensure the United States is never a platform for terrorists and tyrants that threaten American citizens,” she added.
This is the sort of decisive posture Republicans have been pushing for years: call out the regime, squeeze its financial networks, and deny it respectability on the world stage. Allowing sanctioned figures to saunter into Manhattan and attend U.N. panels undercuts those efforts and sends the wrong message to allies and adversaries alike. Strength is a language Tehran understands better than half measures and wishful thinking.
Let’s be blunt: Iran has been relentless in exporting violence and chaos. From supplying missiles and training to proxies like Hezbollah to the Houthis’ attacks on shipping and civilians, Tehran’s reach has made the Middle East less stable and the world more dangerous. The American response should be to isolate and punish bad actors, not to offer them moral cover at global institutions.
Some will argue that diplomacy requires face-to-face talks and that the U.N. is a place for dialogue. Republicans agree in principle, but not at the expense of our security or our standing. There is a difference between negotiation and normalization, and the SEVER Act draws that distinction firmly.
For years under the previous administration’s softer approach, Iran exploited openings and played by a different rulebook. Sanctions were waived, incentives were handed over, and the regime used the respite to entrench its nuclear program and expand its influence. Conservatives saw that policy as appeasement, and the new legislation is intended to reverse that trend.
President Trump’s reelection has brought a tougher posture that Republicans argue has already made a difference in constraining Iran’s aggressions. The SEVER Act would add another tool to ensure American soil is not used as a stage for propagandists and terrorists. It’s about policy, principle, and protecting citizens first.
We should also remember the human cost of doing nothing. Iranian citizens themselves suffer under a brutal theocracy that silences dissent and crushes freedoms at home. Denying ceremonial access to a global platform for the regime’s cronies is also a small nod to those Iranian people who want real change, not more international legitimization for their oppressors.
Congressional Republicans are making a clear choice: stand with the victims of Tehran’s brutality and refuse to give its leaders the perks of international prestige. The SEVER Act is an explicit, targeted response to a predictable threat. It makes sense, it is politically coherent, and it signals that America will not beumble in the face of tyranny anymore.
As U.N. leaders gather next week, all eyes will be on who gets a visa and who gets exposed. Lawmakers on both sides of the Capitol who believe in firm deterrence are pushing the same message: cronies of the Ayatollah have no business walking American streets. If the U.S. wants to lead credibly, it must stop pretending that courtesy equals security.
America’s posture toward Iran should be defined by clarity: stop the funding, stop the terrorism, stop the nuclear march. Blocking access to U.S. soil for sanctioned Iranian officials is a practical step in that direction. It’s time to act like a country that protects its people and refuses to be used as a stage for its enemies’ propaganda.
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