Strategy to counter Iranian and Hezbollah influence operations in Latin America

(a) Strategy required Not later than 180 days after the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Secretary of State and the Director of National Intelligence, shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a comprehensive strategy to counter Iran’s and Hezbollah’s propaganda, religious networks, and influence operations in Latin America. (b) Contents of the Strategy The strategy required under subsection (a) shall include the following: (1) Measures to address the proliferation of Iranian cultural centers in Latin America that promote Iranian ideology, including diplomatic efforts to limit their operations, sanctions on affiliated entities, and public diplomacy to expose their activities. (2) Actions to restrict the travel and activities of Iranian emissaries, including diplomats, cultural attaches, and other agents who facilitate propaganda, radicalization, and terror-supporting networks in Latin America, through visa denials, sanctions, or other travel restrictions. (3) Initiatives to strengthen the capacity of U.S. intelligence agencies to identify, monitor, and disrupt Iran’s and Hezbollah’s networks, including their cooperation academic institutions and non-governmental organizations in Latin America. (4) A framework for taking actions, similar to those implemented against Al-Manar and Press TV, to disrupt Iran’s HispanTV and Hezbollah’s Al Mayadeen Espanol platforms, including sanctions, designations, and cooperation with regional partners to limit their broadcasting reach and digital presence. (5) A plan to address Iran’s Al Mustafa International University network and its affiliated entities, including their designations as foreign terrorist organizations or specially designated global terrorists, as appropriate, due to their role in radicalization and recruitment for Iran’s ideological and terrorist objectives. (c) Form The strategy required in subsection (a) shall be transmitted in unclassified form and may include a classified annex. (d) Appropriate congressional committees defined In this section, the term appropriate congressional committees means— (1) the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives; (2) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives; (3) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate; (4) the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of Representatives; and (5) the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate.