Trump urges Republicans to add Iran to Lindsey Graham Russia sanctions bill

Trump the president's push for last-minute changes threatens the swift passage of a measure that would tax the top five buyers of Russian energy up to 100%.

First Published: July 19, 2026, 10:37 AM ET

WASHINGTON D.C. — Donald Trump wants Republicans to fold Iran into a stalled Russia sanctions bill, risking its swift passage.

Here is the full post on truthsocial: “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”

The president made the demand on his Truth Social platform on July 19, 2026 at 2:27 PM ET. His comments signal a potential hurdle for legislation that had gathered enough support to overcome a Senate filibuster according to kyivindependent.com. The measure, spearheaded by the late Senator Lindsey Graham, would impose a tariff of up to 100% on the top five buyers of Russian energy.

A bipartisan group of senators recently unveiled a revised version of the bill, which slaps sanctions on top buyers of Russian oil and gas to undercut the Kremlin’s wartime revenues according to kyivindependent.com. The current form represents a scaled-down version of the initial bill, which called for a blanket 500% tariff on all buyers of Russian energy. The revised text also grants the president the right to waive sanctions, provided he justifies the waiver to Congress.

“With all due respect to the president, he has approved this bill, and we should move forward with this bill rather than opening it,” Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal said according to kyivindependent.com. “If there are other bills that he wants to propose, we’ll consider them.”

The stakes fall heaviest on nations that keep buying Russian energy, chiefly China and India, which would face steep new tariffs at U.S. ports. Ukraine stands to gain from tighter pressure on the Kremlin’s revenues, while a reopened debate benefits Iran by delaying the measure. The president’s allies who want a harder line on Tehran win a fresh vehicle for their aims.

The legislation has been stuck in Congress since April 2025 according to kyivindependent.com. Shortly before his sudden death on July 11, Graham said he had secured the White House’s backing for passing the bill. Trump floated the idea of including Iran and its proxy, the Islamist group Hezbollah, as early as July 14, drawing pushback from lawmakers who endorsed Graham’s legislation.

For the average American, the fight matters at the gas pump. Sanctions and tariffs aimed at buyers of Russian oil can ripple through global energy markets and lift prices at home. The comments follow the collapse of a fragile ceasefire with Iran, reigniting a conflict that has shaken those markets according to kyivindependent.com.

Has this happened before? This has happened before. Congress and the White House clashed over Iran sanctions during earlier standoffs, and lawmakers have repeatedly bundled new targets into pending measures to broaden their reach.

The next move rests with the Senate, which must decide whether to reopen the bill or advance the current text. A date for a floor vote has not been announced.

The United States has reached for sanctions against adversaries before, and the results have varied. Washington imposed sweeping penalties on Iran after the 1979 hostage crisis, freezing roughly $12 billion in Iranian assets and cutting formal ties for decades. Those measures reshaped the Iranian economy yet did not topple its government, leaving successive American presidents to manage a rivalry that endures to this day.