Washington, December 25: US plans to impose new sanctions on Iran may come into play sooner than expected as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid vows to bring the legislation to a vote in the coming weeks.
“This important piece of legislation…would impose new sanctions on Iran’s refined petroleum sector and tighten existing US sanctions,” ” Reid said in a Thursday colloquy with Senators Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) and John Kerry (D-Mass.)
He added that the new round of sanctions are aimed at halting what he described as Tehran’s efforts to develop nuclear weapons.
“As we move forward with these negotiations, I want everyone to know that I am committed to getting this legislation to the floor sometime after we return in January,” he added.
His remarks received the instant backing of fellow Democrat and Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, Senator Christopher Dodd, who claimed in the same vein that his “primary goal with this bill is to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapons capability.”
Earlier in April, a bipartisan slate of US senators and lawmakers, tabled a motion that advocated the imposition of tough sanctions against countries that sell refined petroleum, including gasoline, to Iran.
Iran is the world’s fourth-largest oil exporter but, according to US estimates, the country relies on gasoline imports to meet 40 percent of its domestic demand.
On December 15, the US Congress overwhelmingly passed a similar legislation dubbed as the Iran Refined Petroleum Sanctions Act and the Iran Sanctions Enabling Act.
Sanctions have played a key role in Washington’s strategy to force the Tehran government into halting its nuclear activities. Following the victory of the Islamic Revolution in 1979, Washington cited ‘suspicions’ about Iran’s nuclear plans and accused the country of attempting to develop nuclear weapons.
This is while Iran is a signatory of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and unlike some of its regional neighbors has categorically asserted that its plans aim to generate electricity for a growing population.
The Security Council, under pressure from key members such as Washington, has also adopted three sets of sanctions against Iran over what it claims to be the country’s nuclear activities.
——Agencies