US President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office, on the day he signs executive orders, at the White House in Washington, DC, March 6, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein

As the Trump administration prepares for negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program this weekend, the US House Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday moved forward legislation that would impose more sanctions on those who collaborate with Tehran and its terrorist proxy groups.

The committee approved by a voice vote the Enhanced Iran Sanctions Act, legislation spearheaded by Reps. Mike Lawler (R-NY) and Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL) that would impose penalties on those who export, sell, or process Iranian petrochemical products.

“My bill before us today … will give the Trump administration the tools it needs to end the Iranian oil trade once and for all,” Lawler said. “Without these enablers, the regime’s oil operation will collapse, and that’s what we’re counting on.”

Meanwhile, the Foreign Affairs Committee, by a 45-6 margin, also voted to advance the No Paydays for Hostage-Takers Act, bipartisan legislation which seeks to issue penalties toward individuals who assist Iran in taking Americans hostage. The legislation, if passed, would prohibit those who have received federal terrorism and weapons of mass destruction sanctions from entering the United States. 

Additionally, the legislation would mandate that the administration investigate and perhaps sanction any individual involved in the kidnapping and detention of American citizens.

Moreover, the bill would direct the secretary of state to decide whether to prohibit US passport holders from traveling to Iran due to the kidnappings of certain American nationals there.

The Sanction Sea Pirates Act, led by Rep. Jonathan Jackson (D-IL), was approved alongside the other bills in a bipartisan package. The legislation would penalize any person who “knowingly engages in piracy” with consequences, which include freezing their assets and banning them from traveling to the US. The bill was primarily advanced to target the Iran-backed Houthis, a US-designated terrorist organization that has disrupted international shipping from Yemen.

The movement in Congress comes as negotiations between the United States and Iran are scheduled to commence this Saturday in Oman. The Trump administration is attempting to curb Iran’s nuclear program, which Western countries believe is ultimately geared toward developing nuclear weapons, and has threatened “great danger” if an agreement cannot be reached. Tehran claims its nuclear program is only meant for civilian energy purposes.

Trump did not elaborate on the specifics of the schedule, but he did tell reporters from the Oval Office on Wednesday that he had a deadline in mind for when the negotiations must result in a solution that is acceptable.

“We have a little time, but we don’t have much time, because we’re not going to let them have a nuclear weapon. We can’t let them have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said of Iran. “I’m not asking for much. I just — I don’t — they can’t have a nuclear weapon.”

Iran’s leaders have challenged Trump’s claim that the discussions will be “direct” negotiations, calling them “indirect.”

Trump said that he “absolutely” would support military operations targeting Iran’s nuclear program if the US cannot strike an agreement with Tehran. The US president added that Israel would “obviously be very much involved” in any military efforts to dismantle Iran’s nuclear sites. 

“If it requires military, we’re going to have military,” the president said. “Israel will obviously be very much involved in that.”