WASHINGTON, April 28 - Twenty-five U.S. senators from both parties on Tuesday proposed giving President Obama new leverage for stopping Tehran from going nuclear: the authority to sanction companies that export gasoline to Iran.
"The new sanctions include everything up to and including prohibiting these entities from doing business in the United States," Democratic Senator Evan Bayh of Indiana, one of the bill's co-sponsors, told reporters.
Although Iran is rich in oil, its capacity to turn the resource into the gasoline and diesel fuel is limited and lawmakers estimate that up to 40 percent of Iran's gasoline is imported.
The legislation introduced by one-fourth of the Senate is similar to a bill introduced last week in the House of Representatives.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton last week threatened "crippling" sanctions against Iran if it did not end its nuclear program.
The United States and its Western allies suspect Iran is aiming to develop nuclear bombs , but Iran rejects that allegation and says it will not bow to pressure.
The lawmakers say they are trying to provide the new administration with a tool that Obama can choose to use to pressure Iran if efforts to engage Tehran diplomatically do not work.
If faced with a choice between doing business with the United States or Iran, House and Senate legislators are betting that most companies will side with the United States, and cripple Iran's energy sector.
"Bottom line: It allows us to put our finger right on the pressure point where Iran is the weakest, and that is gasoline," said Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer of New York.
But if the companies choose to continue to export to Iran, then they could suffer U.S. sanctions.
"We know who these companies are -- Shell, Vitol (a Swiss firm), BP (British Petroleum), and Reliance (India's Reliance Industries," said Arizona Republican Jon Kyl, a co-sponsor of the measure. "We need to give them a choice: you can do business with Iran's $250 billion economy or our $13 trillion economy, but not both."
During last year's campaign Obama expressed interest in using Iran's dependence on imports of refined petroleum products as leverage in the nuclear standoff. But lawmakers say that under current law his powers to do that are limited.
"There are already sanctions that can be applied to companies that do business with Iran in different circumstances. This is stronger and more precise," Kyl said.
"The new sanctions include everything up to and including prohibiting these entities from doing business in the United States," Democratic Senator Evan Bayh of Indiana, one of the bill's co-sponsors, told reporters.
Although Iran is rich in oil, its capacity to turn the resource into the gasoline and diesel fuel is limited and lawmakers estimate that up to 40 percent of Iran's gasoline is imported.
The legislation introduced by one-fourth of the Senate is similar to a bill introduced last week in the House of Representatives.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton last week threatened "crippling" sanctions against Iran if it did not end its nuclear program.
The United States and its Western allies suspect Iran is aiming to develop nuclear bombs , but Iran rejects that allegation and says it will not bow to pressure.
The lawmakers say they are trying to provide the new administration with a tool that Obama can choose to use to pressure Iran if efforts to engage Tehran diplomatically do not work.
If faced with a choice between doing business with the United States or Iran, House and Senate legislators are betting that most companies will side with the United States, and cripple Iran's energy sector.
"Bottom line: It allows us to put our finger right on the pressure point where Iran is the weakest, and that is gasoline," said Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer of New York.
But if the companies choose to continue to export to Iran, then they could suffer U.S. sanctions.
"We know who these companies are -- Shell, Vitol (a Swiss firm), BP (British Petroleum), and Reliance (India's Reliance Industries," said Arizona Republican Jon Kyl, a co-sponsor of the measure. "We need to give them a choice: you can do business with Iran's $250 billion economy or our $13 trillion economy, but not both."
During last year's campaign Obama expressed interest in using Iran's dependence on imports of refined petroleum products as leverage in the nuclear standoff. But lawmakers say that under current law his powers to do that are limited.
"There are already sanctions that can be applied to companies that do business with Iran in different circumstances. This is stronger and more precise," Kyl said.
