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US congressmen press for Iran sanctions bill

WASHINGTON: Key US congressmen on Wednesday said that they would push forward with legislation imposing mandatory sanctions on foreign firms working in Iran, despite administration concerns that the bill could split the international coalition against Iran’s nuclear programme.

As the United States and its allies prepared to take Iran’s case to the UN Security Council – which could eventually consider penalties on Tehran – some lawmakers complained that Washington needs to be more aggressive in confronting the “threat” posed by Iran’s pursuit of nuclear technology.

Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns told the US House of Representatives International Relations Committee that the Security Council would begin debate on Iran next Monday and Tuesday, and gradually escalate pressure if Tehran refused to halt uranium enrichment activities.

But Rep Thomas Lantos of California, the panel’s senior Democrat, insisted that “Iran’s quest for nuclear arms requires us to do two things: squeeze Iran’s economy as much as possible and do so without delay”.

He said that the committee next week would consider a bill signed by more than 300 lawmakers requiring US sanctions on any company or nation investing more than $20 million in Iran’s energy sector.

It would also require US-based pension funds to disclose Iran-related investments. Washington already has long-standing sanctions prohibiting American companies or individuals from doing business with the Islamic republic.

Meanwhile, the White House rejected as provocative Iran’s warning that the United States could feel “harm and pain” if the Security Council took up the issue of Tehran’s nuclear research. “Provocative statements and actions only further isolate Iran from the rest of the world,” spokesman Scott McClellan told reporters travelling with President George W Bush in New Orleans.

Burns said that the administration could support legislation imposing sanctions on foreign firms, which would replace the expiring Iran-Libya Sanctions Act, but it should be modified to give Bush greater flexibility. After a year of intensive diplomacy, the five major nuclear powers – the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China – are united in agreeing that “Iran is seeking nuclear weapons” but the proposed law could blow the coalition apart, he warned.

In recent years, foreign firms have signed more than $100 billion in energy-related deals with Iran but US presidents sidestepped imposing sanctions to avoid a diplomatic or trade row, especially with European allies, lawmakers said. Burns said that the Security Council would start with a statement demanding that Iran halt uranium enrichment and cooperate with the international community. REUTERS

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