Senate Passes Iran Sanctions Bill

Key Petroleum Sector facilities Iran 

The U.S. Senate unanimously voted to tighten sanctions on Iran on Monday, three days after a dispute over whether to include the threat of American force stalled the legislation.

The new sanctions would target Iran's oil and banking industries, as well as other sectors. The measure passed the Senate on a voice vote Monday evening, two days before a new round of talks between Iran and leading U.N. members in Baghdad. "Today the Senate has showed we can still act in a bipartisan way on important priorities," said Sen. Tim Johnson, D-South Dakota, the chairman of the Senate banking committee.

Passage came after senators agreed to add language warning that military force would be an option available to the United States if Iran seeks to build a nuclear weapon. But the measure also states that nothing in the legislation authorizes military action. More...