Iran Gasoline, Banking Sanctions Win Passage in U.S. Senate

The U.S. Senate approved legislation to penalize foreign companies selling gasoline to Iran and bar banks doing business with targeted Iranian banks or the Revolutionary Guard Corps from using the U.S. financial system.

The Senate voted 99-0 for the measure, and the House plans to vote on the legislation later today. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs earlier this week called the sanctions legislation a “strong bill.”

While a pro-trade council opposing sanctions expressed concern over the legislation, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a pro-Israel lobbying group, praised the measure as “the toughest Iran sanctions bill ever to emerge from Congress.”

“It provides the best hope that political and economic measures can peaceably persuade Iran to end its illicit nuclear program before it is too late,” AIPAC said in a statement when House and Senate leaders reached agreement on the measure earlier this week.

Israel views Iran’s nuclear and missile programs as a threat because of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad public comments questioning Israel’s right to exist.

The expanded U.S. sanctions add to penalties imposed earlier this month by the United Nations Security Council that are designed to cut off financing and other support for the regime’s conventional weapons and nuclear complex and its Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Democrats and Republicans in Congress have expressed frustration that previous sanctions either weren’t applied or failed to have much effect.

The National Foreign Trade Council cautioned that the legislation extends sanctions to U.S. parent companies of foreign subsidiaries or sister units that “should have known” of violations.

“We are deeply concerned about the timing of this legislation and its unintended consequences for legitimate global commerce,” said Bill Reinsch, president of the council, in a statement.

To contact the reporter on this story: Viola Gienger in Washington at vgienger@bloomberg.net.

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