US President Donald Trump signed the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 into law on Friday, introducing a new sweeping package of US sanctions against Russia and significantly expanding Washington’s ability to target countries and companies that continue to facilitate Russian energy exports.
The Lindsey Graham bill was approved by both the House and Senate after it was revived following Lindsey Graham’s death in July to honour his legacy. Senator Graham had spent more than a year working on the legislation with Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal and had reached an agreement with the White House over the bill shortly before his death. The Senate eventually approved it by 86 votes to 11 on 7 August, while the House passed it by 262 votes to 159 on 16 September.
President Trump signed the legislation into law on 18 September. The White House described it as legislation that expands statutory sanctions, tariffs and prohibitions against Russia while also extending existing sanctions against Iran.
These sanctions include:
- Primary and secondary sanctions against Russian officials, oligarchs and their family members, Russian banks and financial institutions, as well as foreign individuals and companies supporting or facilitating sanctioned Russian activities.
- Sanctions against Russia’s shadow fleet of tankers used to transport Russian oil and circumvent existing Western sanctions, along with foreign persons and vessels involved in sanctions evasion.
- Tariffs of up to 100% on imports from the five largest purchasers of Russian crude oil, the five largest purchasers of Russian natural gas and the five countries most involved in facilitating Russian oil sanctions evasion. The legislation allows the list of affected countries to be reassessed every 180 days. These countries include China, India, Slovakia, Hungary and Azerbaijan, and Turkey.
- Tariffs of up to 500% on Russian-origin goods imported directly into the United States, although the legislation includes exemptions for certain products, including uranium required for US nuclear reactors and some medical isotopes.
- Additional financial and export restrictions targeting sectors and entities connected to Russia’s military and energy industries.
- A five-year extension of the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996, extending sanctions authority that had been due to expire at the end of 2026 until 2031.
The legislation represents one of the most significant expansions of US economic sanctions against Russia since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Unlike sanctions aimed exclusively at Russian entities, the new law also gives the US administration extensive powers to impose economic costs on third countries that remain major purchasers of Russian energy.
You watch the signing ceremony with the press conference here.
Newsroom
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