The U.S. Senate passed a comprehensive Iran sanctions bill.

The bill passed by voice vote Thursday evening hews closely to a companion bill passed last month in the U.S. House of Representatives; White House requests to roll back some of the harsher provisions were unheeded.

The bills target Iran’s energy sector, singling out for sanctions any entity – individual, company or even country – that deals in refined petroleum with Iran, a major oil producer, but with a refining sector in disarray.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

The Obama administration has preferred to emphasize multilateral sanctions targeting Iran’s leadership coupled with diplomatic outreach. Both bills must now be reconciled and the final version is likely be signed by Obama, despite his reservations.

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which led lobbying for the bills, urged swift passage and signing.

“Iran’s possession of nuclear weapons capability would be a devastating blow to America’s national security interests,” spokesman Josh Block said. “The U.S. and our allies must impose biting diplomatic and economic pressure to try and peaceably prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons and avoid confronting more distressing alternatives.

The bills allow Obama waivers for national security reasons. Obama’s predecessors have exercised such waivers with earlier sanctions bills.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$90 $180

$360

Other amount