BICOM

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday praised the United States’ House of Representatives for overwhelmingly voting in favour of new toughened sanctions against Iran’s oil industry. The vote comes just days before the inauguration of Iran’s new President Hassan Rowhani, viewed by some as a relative moderate within the Tehran regime.

Existing US sanctions have already seen an estimated sixty per cent reduction in Iranian oil exports since 2011, in light of Tehran’s continued refusal to cooperate with the international community over its nuclear programme. However, due to the high price of oil, Iran still enjoyed its fourth best year in oil revenues in 2012. The new sanctions will further limit sales and commits the United States to the goal of ending all Iranian oil sales worldwide by 2015. The proposed legislation also blacklists business in Iran’s mining and construction sectors. The bill was approved overwhelmingly by Democrats and Republicans alike with 400 in favour of the legislation and just 20 voting against. However, it must now be approved by the Senate and President Obama.

Responding to the vote, Netanyahu said that it sent a clear message to Iran over its nuclear ambitions in light of Rowhani’s election. He commented, “This is a message to the Iranians that they don’t get a year of grace, that words and smiles [from Rowhani] will not be enough, and that if they do not want sanctions upgraded, they will have to take tangible measures.” Netanyahu called it a sign “that international pressure will increase until Iran meets its obligations and ceases its pursuit of a nuclear weapons capability. We will judge Iran by its actions alone.” The latest quarterly report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in May revealed that Iran is continuing to increase its stockpile of twenty percent enriched uranium, considered just a small step away from weapons grade quality material.