The Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 is a United States federal Act passed by the US Congress in September 2026. The legislation was created to cut off the financial and energy resources sustaining Russia's war against Ukraine and to extend sanctions on Iran. It was named in honor of the late Senator Lindsey O. Graham, who championed the bill.
The Act works by establishing a comprehensive sanctions framework. Key provisions mandate new sanctions on Russian political and military officials, oligarchs, major Russian financial institutions, and the country's "shadow fleet" of oil tankers. The most controversial mechanism is Section 113, which grants the US President authority to impose tariffs of up to 100% on the top five purchasers of Russian oil or natural gas. This provision is directly relevant to India, as it is one of the largest buyers of Russian crude oil, alongside China. The Act also connects to the existing US sanctions regime by extending the Iran Sanctions Act by five years.
This Act is a significant expansion of previous measures, such as the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) of 2017, which also targeted Russia, Iran, and North Korea. The new legislation, passed by a 262-159 vote in the House, has changed the sanctions landscape by introducing the powerful tariff authority on third-party countries like India and China, which was not a central feature of earlier acts.