Bipartisan bill aims to expand sanctions on Iran’s energy sector

Two US lawmakers have introduced legislation aimed at tightening sanctions on Iran’s petrochemical trade, expanding restrictions on entities involved in the country’s oil exports.

Republican congressman Mike Lawler (R-NY) and congresswoman Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL) sponsored the Enhanced Iran Sanctions Act, which seeks to close loopholes in existing measures and further cut off Iran’s key revenue sources.

The proposed sanctions would cover banks, financial institutions, insurance providers, ship registries and pipeline operators connected to Iranian petrochemical exports.

Citing data from energy consultancy Kpler, Bloomberg reported this week that Iranian daily oil export flows to top customer China had strongly rebounded this month, President Donald Trump's first full month in office.

The unexpected rise comes after traders worked around logistical hurdles thrown up by previous US-led sanctions on the exports, the news agency reported.

Trump reimposed the "maximum pressure" campaign of sanctions on Iran from his first term which aims to bring Iran's oil sales down to zero.

The proposed bill would ban anyone engaging in significant transactions with sanctioned entities could face US prosecution under the SHIP Act, which targets Tehran's oil exports in defiance of US sanctions.

“Our regional partners and allies in the Middle East are counting on us to stop Iran before it’s too late,” Lawler said in a statement. “The new sanctions imposed in the Iran Enhanced Sanctions Act will give us a broader ability to quash Iran’s illicit oil trade for good.”

The bill also mandates the establishment of an interagency working group under the State Department to coordinate sanctions enforcement and an international contact group to improve multilateral efforts. It further introduces a rewards program for whistleblowers who report sanctions evasion.

The bill follows previous Iran oil sanctions legislation sponsored by Lawler, which became law last year.

With Lawler and Cherfilus-McCormick holding key positions on the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s Middle East and North Africa subcommittee, the bill is expected to gain bipartisan support.