US Senator Raphael Warnock Blocks Russia-Iran Sanctions Bill

Democratic US Senator Raphael Warnock from Georgia has blocked an effort to fast-track the passage of a sweeping Russia-Iran sanctions bill, Punchbowl News reported on Tuesday.

The revised legislation, championed by the late Senator Lindsey Graham, a prominent Russia hawk, would authorize US President Donald Trump to impose tariffs of up to 100% on goods from countries that buy Russian oil, including China and India.

Sen. Warnock placed a hold on the bill despite voting last week to advance it.

“Supporting Ukraine does not mean giving this unhinged president new powers to raise the price of everything through tariffs,” he said in a statement shared by Punchbowl News congressional reporter Laura Weiss.

Democrats have long described Trump’s policy of imposing tariffs on most US trading partners as chaotic and damaging to the national economy.

Graham, a staunch supporter of Ukraine, died unexpectedly at the age of 71 last month, shortly after returning from Kiev. Since 2022, he had lobbied heavily for “crushing sanctions” aimed at cutting off Russia’s oil trade.

In March, the US temporarily lifted its ban on the sale and maritime transportation of Russian crude oil after global energy prices skyrocketed due to the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz during the US-Israeli war with Iran. The waiver was extended twice before expiring in June.

Russia has denounced the sanctions as illegal under international law and maintained that it has managed to adapt to foreign pressure despite the resulting losses.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said last month that the “pointless” sanctions were inflicting “record damage” on the Western countries that had adopted them.