Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) will introduce legislation Wednesday calling for increased drilling on U.S. federal lands to displace Iranian oil on the world market, according to a copy of the bill obtained by The Hill.

The bill requires the president to establish enough “Iranian Oil Replacement Zones” on federal lands to produce 1.25 million barrels of oil per day — approximately the amount Iran exports every day.

An Inhofe aide told The Hill that would divert oil the U.S. imports from Saudi Arabia and elsewhere to nations that still buy Iranian crude, such as China, India and Japan. The goal is to give President Obama wiggle room to enforce full sanctions on Iranian oil by ending waivers awarded to some nations. 

Acting Energy Department (DOE) Secretary Daniel Poneman said the Obama administration is not backing down from requests that India eschew solar policies that it says might violate international trade rules.

At issue are Indian requirements that solar energy firms buy all inputs from domestic producers. The subcontinent says that will help grow its solar industry, but the U.S. contends local-content requirements are outlawed by the World Trade Organization (WTO).

“At this point our view is, we are in a discussion with India. Our views on … local content are clear, and we’re hoping we can work through this,” Poneman told The Hill on Tuesday after speaking at the U.S.-India Energy Partnership Summit in Washington, D.C.

The Syrian regime has responded to last week's U.S.-Russian call for peace talks, Secretary of State John Kerry said Tuesday, bringing the distant prospect of a negotiated end to the 26-month civil war one step closer to reality.

Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime has shared with the Russians a list of Syrian officials it wants invited to the conference, Kerry announced during a press conference with Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt. Kerry would not share the names on the list but said the talks, under the auspices of the United Nations, appeared on target to take place in early June.

If Assad “decides not to come to the table,” Kerry said, “it will be another one of President Assad’s gross miscalculations.

“Now, I don’t believe that that is the case at this moment. The Russians – Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has informed me that President Assad has already given him the names of people who will negotiate.”

The Treasury Department on Tuesday imposed sanctions on an imprisoned Mexican drug trafficker who smuggled tons of drugs into the United States on behalf of the Los Zetas cartel.

Alfredo Andrade Parra, 39, is responsible for bringing thousands of pounds of cocaine and marijuana into the country from Mexico every month, the department alleges, and is also wanted in Texas for multiple counts of trafficking and money laundering.

He was arrested by Mexican authorities in April.

Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) said House Republicans needed to “look in the mirror” on who is to blame for the “Benghazi scandal.”

“Start by looking in the mirror,” Boxer said on the Senate floor Tuesday. “Admit that you cut too much from embassy security.”

The State Department is refuting a new federal audit that found U.S. firms improperly paid almost $1 billion in Afghan taxes, calling its conclusions “not supported” and claiming its recommendations “may undercut” bilateral negotiations.

Tuesday's report from the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) found that Afghanistan over the past five years has levied more than $921 million in business taxes and penalties on 43 U.S. reconstructions contractors, in violation of agreements between the two countries. The report urges the State Department and Congress to take action, if need be by penalizing taxation of U.S. foreign assistance funding to the war-torn country.

“It's disturbing that the Afghan government is targeting American contractors with unjust taxes and intimidation,” Special Inspector General John Sopko said in a statement accompanying the report. “It's even more disturbing that US agencies are letting it happen – all at the expense of American taxpayers, who have already shouldered a heavy burden on Afghan reconstruction. This needs to end.”

President Obama will announce in the coming weeks the number of combat troops that will be withdrawn from Afghanistan next year, Secretary of State John Kerry said Tuesday in Stockholm.

"Very shortly, not too long from now, the president does intend to make public what his plans are for post-2014," Kerry told reporters, according to Reuters.

Earlier this year, Obama announced that he would bring home some 34,000 troops by next February, effectively halving the American military presence in Afghanistan. But the administration has not yet said  how many troops will remain at the end of 2014; as many as 15,000 service members could stay behind to provide training and support to Afghan security forces.

Russian authorities say the country's Federal Security Service has detained a CIA agent who had been trying to recruit a Russian security official, according to multiple reports.

They are endorsing a measure that would set up a special panel to investigate the deadly attacks in Benghazi.