June 24 (Bloomberg) — The U.S. Senate approved legislation to penalize foreign companies selling gasoline to Iran and bar banks doing business with targeted Iranian banks or the Revolutionary Guard Corps from using the U.S. financial system.
The Senate voted 99-0 for the measure, and the House plans to vote on the legislation later today. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs earlier this week called the sanctions legislation a “strong bill.”
While a pro-trade council opposing sanctions expressed concern over the legislation, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a pro-Israel lobbying group, praised the measure as “the toughest Iran sanctions bill ever to emerge from Congress.”
“It provides the best hope that political and economic measures can peaceably persuade Iran to end its illicit nuclear program before it is too late,” AIPAC said in a statement when House and Senate leaders reached agreement on the measure earlier this week.
Israel views Iran’s nuclear and missile programs as a threat because of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad public comments questioning Israel’s right to exist.
