U.S. lawmakers are debating several pieces of legislation to
pressure Iran after the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel by Hamas that
killed at least 1,400 people, mostly civilians. Hamas has long
been backed by Iran, but Tehran has denied any involvement in
the attacks.
The bill "sends a clear and strong message to bad actors like
China, Russia, and others – do not help Iran avoid sanctions and
assist them in their funding of terror, or face the
consequences," Representatives Mike Lawler, a Republican, and
Jared Moskowitz, a Democrat, said in a release.
The bill must be passed by the Senate and signed by President
Joe Biden before becoming law. A companion bill in the Senate is
sponsored by Republican Senators Marco Rubio and John Kennedy
and by Democratic Senators Maggie Hassan and Jacky Rosen.
It is unclear how effective the legislation would be if signed
into law. While Congress can pass sanctions legislation, such
measures often come with national security waivers that allow
presidents discretion in applying the law. And China could
continue to import the oil despite new sanctions.
Despite U.S. sanctions on Iranian oil over its nuclear program,
its exports of crude are soaring. Iran says its nuclear program
is for peaceful purposes.
Iran's crude exports of about 1.5 million barrels per day (bpd)
stood at their highest in more than four years, with more than
80% shipped to China, data from consultancies FGE and Vortexa
showed in September.
(Reporting by Timothy Gardner; additional reporting by Richard
Cowan; Editing by David Gregorio)
[© 2023 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2022 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|
|