US Senate approves sanction bill against Iran
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The U.S. Senate on Thursday approved a sanction bill against Iran, barring companies selling fuel to Iran from obtaining U.S. government bids.
Under the bill, which was passed by an 80-17 vote, foreign company that sells more than one million dollars' worth of fuel to Iran would not be able to bid for contracts offered by the U.S. government.
The House of Representatives on Wednesday passed another bill, under which the U.S. state and local governments would obtain legal authorities to divest investments from those companies investing more than 20 million dollars in Iran's petroleum or natural gas operations.
The U.S. Congress has been considering other sanction measures. All of these sanction bills have to be signed by President Barack Obama before becoming law.
The move by the U.S. Congress came after the Iranian government told the UN nuclear watchdog that it has a second uranium enrichment plant near Qom, 160 kilometers south of Tehran. The plant is believed to have facility for 3,000 centrifuges.
The United States, its European allies and Israel claim that Iran's nuclear program is aimed at developing nuclear weapons, while the UN Security Council also requires Iran to suspend its uranium enrichment activity.
However, Iran insists that its nuclear plan is only for peaceful purposes, and continues its uranium enrichment activity despite pressure from the western countries and relevant resolutions and sanctions of the United Nations.
Officials from Iran, the United States, Russia, France and the United Nations will meet in Vienna next Monday to discuss the international uranium supply to Iran, which was agreed at meetings earlier this month between Iran and six major powers, namely the United States, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany.
The Obama administration has said that the option of economic sanctions remains on the negotiating table with Iran, urging Tehran to address the international concerns on its nuclear issue.
"We think there are still opportunities to apply pressure, if Iran is unwilling to address the concerns the United States and the other members of the international community have about its nuclear aspirations," State Department spokesman Philip Crowley told a Tuesday press briefing.
"Our strategy involves a two-track approach. That includes engagement, as well as pressure. We have a suite of sanctions that are in place, so we continue to work to see how to make them more effective," said the spokesman.
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