U.S. Approves New Iran Sanctions

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RIA Novosti, PUBLISHED May 23, 2012

The U.S. Senate has unanimously approved a bill imposing a raft of new economic sanctions against Iran in a renewed bid to force it to halt its controversial nuclear program, the BBC reported on Tuesday.

The new sanctions will investigate the role of Iran's Revolutionary Guard in its crude oil exports, and also oblige U.S.-listed companies to report any transactions with Iran to the authorities.

Concerns have been growing in Israel and the West that Iran is seeking to build an atomic bomb, although Tehran insists its nuclear program is entirely peaceful.

The House of Representatives passed its version of the bill in December.

The move comes ahead of a fresh round of international talks on Wednesday on Iran's nuclear activities.

"This bill is another tool that will demonstrate to Iran that the United States is not backing down," said Democratic Senator Robert Menendez, a co-author of the bill.

"Today the U.S. Senate put Iranian leaders on notice that they must halt all uranium enrichment activities or face another round of economic sanctions from the United States," said Republican Senator Mark Kirk, who helped draft the legislation.

In March, U.S. President Barack Obama approved measures allowing Washington to punish countries that continue to buy oil from Iran.

Iran has the world's third-largest oil reserves.

Earlier this year, EU members states agreed to stop importing Iranian oil from July 1. The EU currently accounts for 20 percent of Iran's oil exports.

Topics: USA, Iran

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