Today, the US House of representatives voted across party lines to pass a bill that would to tighten sanctions on Iran and brand Iran's Pasdaran ( Revolutionary Guard) a terrorist organization.
The bill passed 397 votes to 16 and sanctions foreign companies with US subsidiaries which invest in Iran, particularly in the oil and gas sectors.
It also prohibits any nuclear cooperation with nations that support Iran's nuclear program and calls on the US government to urge foreign states and banks to divest from Iranian interests.
Most interestingly, it takes away the power of the president to waive these sanctions.
The bill is also indirectly aimed at Russia. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen ( R-FL), the committee's ranking Republican, said: "Too many foreign energy firms have become functional allies in Tehran's efforts to build a nuclear bomb."
The bill, named the Iran Counterproliferation Act still needs to be reconciled with the Senate and then signed by the president.
One amusing bit in the AFP article I've linked to is it's mention of Iran's president Ahmadinejad as having `fought with the Guards during the Iran-Iraq War'.
What Ahmadinejad was actually doing during that war was working on the home front as a Baseji militia ( Iran's SA ) commander, training little kids as young as twelve years old to hang Khomenei's plastic `keys to paradise' around their necks and act as human minesweepers and cannon fodder against Iraqi tanks.
i wonder if this had anything to do with the actions of the House.
ReplyDeletei also wonder if that is the reason shrub is looking the other way regarding iran's involvement in iraq.
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