Senate Advances Bipartisan Russia and Iran Sanctions Bill

The U.S. Senate advanced a sweeping bipartisan sanctions bill targeting Russia and Iran on Tuesday, July 28, 2026, moving the legislation forward with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy watching from the gallery. The procedural vote of 86-12 clears a path for the bill, named for the late Senator Lindsey Graham, which aims to squeeze Russia's wartime revenue by empowering the president to impose tariffs on major purchasers of Russian energy.

The legislation would authorize President Donald Trump to levy tariffs of up to 100% on the world's top five importers of Russian oil and natural gas, a list that includes China and India. It also targets Russian officials, oligarchs, financial institutions, and vessels in Russia's "shadow fleet" used to circumvent sanctions. Additionally, the bill extends existing sanctions authority over Iran's energy and weapons sectors through 2031. The bill includes a five-year sunset provision for the new Russia sanctions authorities and allows the president to waive individual sanctions by certifying to Congress that doing so is in the national interest.

The vote followed a day of high-level diplomacy, as Zelenskyy was in Washington to attend...