House committee advances Iran sanctions bill

A bill that would impose tougher sanctions on Iran's petroleum industry could soon reach the House floor.

Lawmakers on the chamber's Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday easily approved Chairman Howard Berman's (D-Calif.) Iran Refined Petroleum Sanctions Act -- a bill that expands and extends the Obama administration's current sanctions on Tehran's energy industry. His proposal, months in the making, now heads to the House floor.

"By passing the Iran Refined Petroleum Sanctions Act, the Foreign Affairs Committee will take the first key step to ensure that President Obama is empowered with the full range of tools he needs to address the looming nuclear threat from Iran even as he pursues diplomacy and, if necessary, the multilateral sanctions track," Berman said in a statement released earlier this month.

Berman's effort builds off the previous Iran Sanctions Act and offers the White House exceptional power to pursue companies that skirt U.S. restrictions to do business with Iran's petroleum sector. It also requires the Obama administration to report to Congress any companies that violate the specified sanctions.

The bill arrives at a crucial time: The United States is making some progress in Tehran, but it remains unclear whether multilateral talks will produce a lasting agreement that severely curtails Iran's nuclear program. U.S. officials have reportedly closed in on a deal that would require the Middle Eastern state to ship its fissile material to a third country; however, the international agreement hinges on a successful meeting of negotiators in Vienna at the end of this week.