House, Senate negotiators agree on Iran sanctions

House and Senate negotiators reached agreement Monday on a new round of stifling sanctions on Iran, targeting energy, shipping and insurance sectors with punitive measures to derail Tehran's suspected push for nuclear weapons.         

Lawmakers filed a final bill late Monday that expands on existing penalties, with a vote by the House of Representatives expected as early as Wednesday. Congress has just a week before a monthlong August recess and members see the legislation as the last chance to impose crippling sanctions that hit Iran's economy and its ability to finance its nuclear program.          

"The bill sends a clear message to the Iranian regime that the U.S. is committed, through the use of sanctions, to preventing Iran from crossing the nuclear threshold," said Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, chairwoman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.          

The bill would sanction many transactions related to the energy sector and prohibit Iran from transferring money back to the country from oil sales to foreign nations.          

Any company shipping proliferation-sensitive goods to Iran would be subject to penalties under the bill. The bill also calls for sanctions on anyone who provides insurance or reinsurance to a shipping service from Iran. One of the main targets of the measure is the National Iranian Tanker Co., the state-run company and shipping line.         

The bill also would deny visas and freeze assets on individuals and companies that supply Iran with technology that could be used against its citizens, such as tear gas, rubber bullets and surveillance equipment. The bill extends those sanctions on human rights violators to Syria, where President Bashar Assad's regime is accused of a bloody crackdown against protesters     

The bill targets Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps and requires companies that trade on the U.S. stock exchange to disclose any Iran-related business to the Securities and Exchange Commission.         

The bill also goes after anyone who helps Iran evade oil sanctions through reflagging of vessels and any entity that is involved in uranium mining with Iran worldwide. Sanctions also would extend to anyone who transports crude oil from Iran and hides its origin, or carries refined petroleum products to Iran.      

AP