Signed on Friday, the 48-page measure is formally titled the Lindsey O Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026. It expands US sanctions beyond existing measures by targeting purchasers of Russian energy, applying penalties to Russian leaders, senior officials, banks, other financial institutions and the so-called "shadow fleet" of tankers used to evade prior restrictions. At President Trump's request the bill also reaches into Iran's energy and weapons sectors.
The legislation includes carve-outs for countries that import less than 15% of their natural gas from Russia and are actively reducing dependency, a built-in flexibility aimed at limiting unintended effects on allies. Still, analysts point to the concentration of Russian crude exports: data from the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air shows China took 50% of Russian crude between December 2022 and August 2026, India 37%, and Turkey and the European Union 5% each during the same period.
Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat from New York, labelled the package "scorching sanctions" and said it would "throttle Putin's war machine." Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky publicly welcomed the signing, calling the measure "critically important legislation" and urging swift and full implementation to honour Senator Graham's memory. Senator Lindsey Graham, a leading US backer of aid to Ukraine, died on 11 July aged 71 from an aortic dissection.
The bill passed the US House of Representatives earlier this week and now places the burden of implementation on the executive branch. That means the immediate effect will depend on how aggressively the administration applies the new tariff powers and how it interprets the exceptions written into the law. Trade partners identified among the top purchasers will face rapid diplomatic and commercial pressure as Washington weighs tariff actions against the risk of broader market disruption.
What happens next will hinge on presidential determinations and on whether affected countries secure exemptions or alter their energy sourcing. The new measure signals a willingness in Washington to use tariffs as a tool to choke off revenues for Moscow while also expanding the scope of US sanctions policy to include designated buyers and wider sectors tied to Russia and Iran.
