Florida Governor (and 2024 GOP presidential candidate) Ron DeSantis announced yesterday that while Florida stands with Israel, the state of Florida will also “sanction Iran.” DeSantis says he plans to “roll out” legislation in 2024 “to increase Florida sanctions on Iran and to block Iranian business in our state.”
DeSantis asserts that his proposed Florida legislation will “expand the prohibition on state investment in Iranian businesses” to include the financial, construction, manufacturing, and textiles sectors, among others. The Governor added: “We will not lift these sanctions until the President and U.S. Congress certify that Iran has stopped supporting international terrorism and seeking to acquire weapons of mass destruction.
“These will be by far the strongest Iran sanctions that any state has enacted of all 50 states throughout this country,” DeSantis says.
Though DeSantis admits the legislation will be important “symbolically,” he doesn’t mention that there are already federal sanctions and restrictions in place that largely prevent Iranian businesses from operating in the United States.
Governor Ron DeSantis Proposes Stronger Sanctions on Iran https://t.co/g17Nk6Wjq5
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) October 10, 2023
Rep. Anna Eskamani, a Florida Democrat whose parents immigrated from Iran, responded to the proposed state sanctions by telling Fox35 Orlando: “I have never even heard of a state sanctioning a foreign country, and the United States has already placed heavy sanctions on Iran which have been pretty constant through several presidents.”
DeSantis also vows to “remind” Florida law enforcement that “any action that harbors terrorists is not lawful in the state of Florida,” including, the Governor says, “fundraising for Hamas or other terrorist groups.” DeSantis says that “if you’re doing that in Florida you’re going to be held accountable.”
[Note: the federal government already prohibits fundraising for designated terrorist groups.]
