WASHINGTON (AP) - The Latest on the House’s consideration of sanctions legislation targeting Iran and Hezbollah (all times local):
4:30 p.m.
The House has passed legislation to block the flow of money to the Iran-backed Hezbollah and to sanction the militant group for using civilians as human shields.
Lawmakers approved the measures by voice vote.
One of the bills directs the Trump administration to sanction people and businesses engaged in fundraising and recruitment for Hezbollah.
Another bill calls on the Trump White House to push for the U.N. Security Council to impose international sanctions against Hezbollah for the group’s use of civilians as human shields.
Rep. Ed Royce of California says Hezbollah has taken hundreds of thousands of lives, including Americans. He says the measures hold Hezbollah “accountable for its acts of death and destruction.”
A separate vote is scheduled for Thursday on a bill to sanction Iran for ballistic missile development.
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3:21 p.m.
The House is poised to pass bipartisan legislation that would hit Iran with new sanctions for its pursuit of long-range ballistic missiles and block the flow of money to the Tehran-backed Hezbollah militant group.
The Iran sanctions bill requires the Trump administration to find and sanction companies and individuals inside and outside of Iran that are the main suppliers of Tehran’s ballistic missile programs.
The Hezbollah bill directs the administration to sanction people and businesses engaged in fundraising and recruitment for the group.
Votes are scheduled for later Wednesday.
Republican Rep. Ed Royce and Democratic Rep. Eliot Engel sponsored the bills.
The legislation doesn’t undermine the Obama-era Iran nuclear deal. President Donald Trump has threatened to unravel the international accord aimed at preventing Iran from building atomic weapons.
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