Republican Michelle Steel Pushes Bill to Permanently Sanction Iran a Day Before Amini’s Death

Michelle Steel condemns the killing as “Horrific”, and expresses support for Iranians speaking up in the face of persecution.

Following the death of 22-year old Mahsa Amini on September 16th, Michelle Steel (R-CA) expressed outrage that repressive actions taken against the young woman resulted in her death.

Amini was detained for showing some of her hair in public. Steel condemned the act stating, “The ongoing human rights violations and the persecution of their own people by Iran’s leaders and Revolutionary Guard is horrific. Iranians across the country have every right to speak up against the persecution and mistreatment of women and minority groups, yet the government continues to respond with violence and has shut off internet access. I stand with the Iranian American community in California and with the brave men and women who are exercising their right to speak up in the face of persecution.”

Steel didn’t need the fatality of a young woman to act. Just one day prior to Amini’s detention, Michelle Steel (R-CA) joined Susie Lee (D-NV) to introduce a bipartisan bill to continue indefinitely the sanctions of the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996 due to expire in 2026. The bill places economic restrictions on Iran’s energy,  limiting the regime’s financial resources.

Amini who was visiting Tehran On Sept. 13,  was detained by the moral police for improperly wearing her hijab and was taken into custody and sent to a re-education center. Reports state she was “severely beaten” and collapsed at the center.  She later died at a hospital.  Protests and violence have erupted in several parts of Iran and outside Iranian embassies in London, France, Oslo, and the United States. Since the protests began police have used brutal force and 75 people are reported dead.