U.S. approves new sanctions against Iran

PanARMENIAN.Net - The U.S. House of Representatives has overwhelmingly approved new sanctions against Iran aimed at halting its disputed nuclear program.



The measure empowers President Barack Obama to ban foreign firms that supply Iran with refined petroleum from doing business in the U.S.



The bill, which passed 412-12, can only become law if approved by the Senate. The measure expands an existing U.S. law that punishes any firm that invests $20m a year in Iran's energy sector.



Iran has one of the world's largest oil reserves but it lacks refining capacity and imports 40% of domestic fuel needs.



It gets most of those imports from European firms such as Vitol, Trafigura, Total and British Petroleum.



Under the proposed new sanctions, firms could be banned from doing business with the U.S. or blocked from receiving financial assistance from American institutions, BBC reported.