The US plans sanctions on Iran’s petrochemical industry, sources familiar with the matter said on Friday, seeking to raise pressure on Tehran after fresh allegations it may be pursuing nuclear weapons.
The sources said Washington wanted to send a strong signal after the UN nuclear watchdog issued a report on Tuesday last week saying Iran appeared to have worked on designing an atomic bomb and may still be secretly carrying out related research.
The sources, who said the sanctions could be unveiled as early as tomorrow, said Washington wanted to find a way to bar foreign companies from aiding Iran’s petrochemical industry with the threat of depriving them access to the US market.
While European nations typically resent “extra-territorial” US sanctions on their companies, the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said in this case the Europeans would likely follow suit, though not immediately.
US firms are barred from most trade with Iran. The US push is therefore aimed at foreign firms by in effect making them choose between working with Iran’s petrochemical industry or doing business in the vast US market.
It was not clear what authorities US President Barack Obama’s administration planned to invoke to impose the sanctions or precisely how, and how much, they would hurt Iran’s petrochemical sector.
Last year, the US Congress approved sanctions that targeted Iran’s energy and banking sectors, threatening to penalize foreign companies that did business with Tehran.
Those sanctions took particular aim at Iran’s ability to refine crude oil into petroleum products such as gasoline.
The sources said there had also been discussion of sanctions on the Iranian financial sector, possibly by limiting certain transactions through the Iranian central bank, but not through a blanket effort to cut it off entirely.
While US officials last week said the idea of cutting off the Iranian central bank entirely was off the table for now, several sources said there had been consideration of more limited measures.
The sources said the US was reluctant to try to cut off the Iranian central bank for fear this could drive oil prices dramatically higher, potentially impairing the US recovery.
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