Obama announces new sanctions against Iran

U.S. President Barack Obama today approved a new Executive Order which imposes new sanctions on the energy and petrochemical sectors of Iran for the "breach" of its international obligations. Obama reiterated that, despite sanctions, the United States remains "committed" to a "diplomatic solution" in the Iranian case, according to a statement from the White House. The newly announced measures seek to prevent bypass the fines established by the purchase of Iranian oil, which the White House re-tighten the screws on Tehran over its nuclear program. "America is announcing today two significant steps to strengthen our efforts to isolate and pressure Iran for its repeated failure to fulfill its international obligations," Obama said in a statement. The U.S. president said his government has decided to impose new sanctions and strengthen existing ones to prevent the sale of Iranian oil. The Executive Order criminalizes also recently approved acquisition of petrochemical products. The penalties also apply, said Obama, those individuals and entities that seek to provide material support to the National Oil Company Iranian company Naftiran Intertrade Company or the Iranian Central Bank. Obama said while the U.S. Treasury imposed sanctions today against the Bank of Kunlun in China and the Islamic Bank Elaf in Iraq to facilitate transactions worth millions of dollars on behalf of Iranian banks are subject to sanctions for links to " illegal actions of Iranian proliferation. " "The actions taken today will post to make it clear that any institution, regardless of where located, allowing an increasingly desperate Iranian regime to maintain its access to international financial system," said Obama. "Since we started our mandate we presented to Iran a clear alternative: meet with your international obligations and Get back to the community of nations or face increasing consequences," Obama said. He insisted that the measures recently announced that the Iranian government seeking to take responsibility for their actions. "The U.S. remains committed to finding a diplomatic solution but is the responsibility of Iran to fulfill their international obligations," he said. He noted, in that sense, that if Tehran continues its defiance both the U.S. and its international partners continue to impose increasing penalties. Democratic and Republican lawmakers reached Monday night agreement on a bill that seeks precisely to impose new sanctions on Iran and expected to be voted on this week, first in the House of Representatives and then in the Senate.