Press Releases

Washington, D.C. – 5/21/26… Today, Congressman Mike Lawler (NY-17), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Middle East and North Africa Subcommittee, released the following statement amid ongoing negotiations with Iran. Reports about conversations on sanctions policy have renewed concerns about ensuring justice and compensation for American victims of terrorism. Federal courts have previously found Iran liable for providing material support to other terrorist organizations and facilitating aspects of the 9/11 attacks. 

“Nearly 25 years after the attacks of September 11th, the families of those we lost are still seeking justice and accountability. Any negotiation or agreement with Iran must recognize that reality.

Iran has spent decades funding and supporting terrorist organizations responsible for the deaths of Americans and our allies, from the ashes of 9/11 to the horrors of October 7th. The U.S. Victims of State-Sponsored Terrorism Fund provides a critical pathway for victims and their families to receive compensation through penalties and forfeited assets from sanctions violators, not taxpayer dollars.

No sanctions relief or normalization effort should come at the expense of terror victims and their families. New Yorkers have never forgotten the lives stolen on September 11th, and we will not allow their memory or the pursuit of justice to be sidelined.”

Rep. Lawler has introduced multiple pieces of legislation focused on holding Iran accountable and strengthening support for victims of terrorism, including the American Victims of Terrorism Compensation Act to protect and strengthen the U.S. Victims of State-Sponsored Terrorism Fund, and the Enhanced Iran Sanctions Act, which passed the House earlier this year with bipartisan support. 

The Victims Fund is financed through penalties and forfeited assets collected from sanctions violators and is used to compensate American victims of state-sponsored terrorism and their families.

Congressman Lawler is one of the most bipartisan members of Congress and represents New York's 17th Congressional District, which is just north of New York City and contains all or parts of Rockland, Putnam, Dutchess, and Westchester Counties. He was rated the most effective freshman lawmaker in the 118th Congress, 8th overall, surpassing dozens of committee chairs.


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