In a development that may eventually hurt Turkey, the United States House of Representatives voted Tuesday to tighten economic sanctions against Iran, accused by Washington of seeking to develop nuclear weapons.
The House passed a bill with a 397 - 16 vote that calls for mandatory U.S. sanctions against foreign companies investing more than $20 million in Iran's lucrative oil and natural gas sectors.
The current Iran Sanctions Act that has in effect since 1997 also advises the U.S. administration to declare sanctions on foreign firms investing over $20 million in Iran's energy sector, but penalties are not compulsory as the president has the power to waive them.
But if the bill passed by the House becomes a law, sanctions will be declared automatically.
To become a law, the House bill must also be approved at the Senate and signed by President George W. Bush.
Congressional efforts to punish Iran and those dealing with its energy sector came at a time when the Bush administration is pushing its Western allies to agree on stronger sanctions against Tehran.
Turkey's case
Ankara and Tehran signed a memorandum of understanding in July agreeing that Turkey should develop three Iranian natural gas fields in the south. The deal, if it takes effect, would mean a major Turkish investment in Iran's natural gas sector. And if at the same time the House bill becomes a law, this would mean sanctions against the Turkish companies involved.
The U.S. has been urging Turkey not to go ahead with July's preliminary agreement.
Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns visited Turkey last week mainly to try to persuade Ankara to curb energy deals with Iran, but Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan clearly rejected the U.S. request.
It is not clear if Turkey will go ahead with the new Iranian deal if the House bill becomes law.
Representative Tom Lantos, a Democrat from California and powerful chairman of the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee was the bill's top sponsor.
"Iran faces a choice between a very big carrot and a very sharp stick," said Lantos. "It is my hope that they will take the carrot. But today, we are putting the stick in place."
Europe opposes House move
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, the committee's top Republican, said: "Too many foreign energy firms have become functional allies in Tehran's efforts to build a nuclear bomb."
European nations, whose companies are doing business with Iran, strongly oppose the U.S. congressional move for tightened sanctions.
The House bill also called on the State Department to designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard as a "foreign terrorist organization" and therefore open the corps and affiliated companies to economic sanctions. Press reports said in August that the Bush administration was planning to declare the Revolutionary Guard -or part of it- as a terrorist group, but an official announcement is yet to come.
The legislative push also came at a time when Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was making inflammatory speeches in New York Monday and Tuesday, where he was attending the United Nations General Assembly meeting.
Ahmadinejad ruled out the possibility of quitting Iran's nuclear program he defended Holocaust revisionists and questioned who carried out the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks against the U.S.
(Turkish Daily News)