Key US House Committee Approves Iran Sanctions Bill

The Jerusalem Post reports that "Congressional sanctions on Iran cleared another hurdle Wednesday as a key committee approved legislation to block refined petroleum from reaching Teheran.The bill was first sponsored by House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Howard Berman, who didn't move on the legislation until now in order to give the Obama administration's diplomacy time to work. The committee's lopsided voice vote approval of the measure, which has 330 co-sponsors, was an indication of Congress's growing impatience with Iranian maneuvering. Three other committees now need to weigh in on the measure before it goes to a full House vote, but Berman said Wednesday he would do 'everything in my power' to make sure the timeline for the legislation's approval was not stretched out and indicated it could pass by the beginning of next year. The Senate is also set to move on similar legislation. 'This legislation seeks to target Iran's ongoing dependence on refined petroleum imports. It is not a magic bullet, but it will - at least - force the Iranians to think twice about continuing to flout the will of the international community,' he said ahead of the committee vote. Berman noted that previous Iran sanctions legislation 'has been ignored by every administration,' but that this bill would require the administration to report to Congress all activities that would trigger sanctions." Tweet