Rep. French Hill backs blockade, proposes UAE sanctions over alleged Iran banking ties

Congressman French Hill, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, said he supports the Trump administration's use of a blockade and a renewed ceasefire to press Iran to assemble a consensus political plan.

"President Trump has pursued the right course of action with the blockade and renewing the ceasefire to give Iran a chance to put together a comprehensive plan that has consensus there," Hill said in the interview.

Hill added that U.S. military activity has kept commercial traffic moving: "We've had more ships go through the strait this week than last week," and he described the blockade and related steps as likely to affect oil prices and flows.

The congressman also raised banking sanctions as a policy lever. "I have a bill in Congress to add sanctions to the UAE . . . because they have been the bankers for Iran," he said, noting that legislators are considering such measures in Congress.

Hill framed the sanctions proposal as part of a broader strategy to interrupt transshipment routes he said aid Russia's war in Ukraine and support proxies in the Gulf. He did not provide legislative text or a timetable for markup.

The interview did not cite independent evidence of the specific banking relationships Hill described; the comment was presented as his policy position and pending congressional consideration.