WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, in response to the ongoing terrorist attacks against Israel, Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (WA-03), Rep. Mary Peltola (AK-AL), and Rep. Jared Golden (ME-02), co-chairs of the Blue Dog Coalition, released the following statement in support of freezing Iranian assets:

“Saturday was the deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust. The brutality of the terrorist attacks launched by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad are difficult to comprehend: children ripped from the arms of their parents and taken as hostages, entire families gunned down in their own homes, police officers and firefighters executed for being public safety officers.

These acts of terror were a shocking display of inhumanity bringing to mind the history of bloody pogroms and antisemitic violence Israel was founded to provide a safe haven from. We cannot tolerate, excuse, or forget these attacks, and we must stand with the people of Israel as they stood with us after the attacks of September 11th.

As the American intelligence community continues investigating the terrorist attacks launched by Hamas, the United States needs to hold on to our options for holding Iran accountable for any assistance it may have provided the perpetrators of these atrocities.

To that end, we should immediately freeze the $6 billion in Iranian assets currently under scrutiny and consider the full range of financial responses available to us. Money is fungible, and there is a well-documented history of Iran funding Hamas, Hezbollah, and other terrorist organizations opposed to the existence of Israel.

Doing what we can to prevent the financing of future acts of terrorism by a regime in Tehran whose leaders praised these attacks is the least we can do to ensure our ally Israel can defend itself.”