The US Senate today
unanimously approved a new sanctions bill that will target companies engaged inenergy
joint ventureswith
Iran
.
The Senate fired off its latest economic salvo
in hopes of ratcheting up the pressure against
Iran
, as negotiators from the
US
and other world powers are
scheduled to meet with their Iranian counterparts in
Iraq
's capital
Baghdad
on 23 May to discuss
Tehran
's nuclear program.
The bill threatens to impose sanctions on the
partners of joint ventures created since 2002, if the Iranian government is a
"substantial" partner or investor, or receives technical expertise or
equipment that will "significantly" help
Tehran
develop its energy resources. The
legislation also will hold parent companies liable if foreign subsidiaries
violate US sanctions.
Senator Robert Menendez (D-New Jersey), who has
spearheaded this and other
Iran
sanctions bills, said the measure
is designed to send a message to
Iran
's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei. “Either come to Baghdad with a real plan to terminate Iran's nuclear
program or we will make our own plan, through sanctions or other necessary
measures, to ensure that Iran fails to achieve its nuclear ambitions,” Menendez
said.
The Senate Banking Committee approved the bill
by a voice vote in February. Such broad support is typical. Iran sanctions
bills do not typically fall victim to the kind of partisan wrangling that
characterizes so much of the action of the current Congress. But Senate
Democrats have accused Republicans repeatedly of blocking their attempts to
bring the measure to the floor for a vote.
Senator Lindsey
Graham (R-South Carolina) had resisted Democrats' efforts to push the bill
through, saying he wanted to “add a few lines” to the bill to make clear US
officials reserved the right touse military force.
But Graham worried the legislative fight “was
sending a mixed message to Iran”. The Senate strengthened the language satisfy
Graham's concerns. “The bill clearly indicates that all options are on the
table when it comes to stopping Iran from obtaining a nuclear capability.”
The US House of Representatives has not taken
up a comparable measure.
Senate passage of the measure comes as the US
is poised to begin sanctioning banks of countries that continue to purchase oil
from Iran, starting 28 June. The EU's embargo on Iranian oil shipments is
scheduled to take effect on 1 July.