The US Senate in an effort to make the sanctions on Iran stringent, has unanimously passed measures which ban foreign firms from having any transactions with the Central Bank of Iran. It has declared that any foreign firm indulging in a transaction with the Bank will have to face consequences. For this to become a law it needs to be passed by the House of Representatives and gain the consent of President Barack Obama. The new sanctions were drafted by Democrat Robert Menendez and Republican Mark Kirk of the Senate’s Foreign Relations Committee in an attempt to prevent Iran from pursuing its alleged nuclear ambitions. These new sanctions were passed following the sanctions passed by the EU against Iran.

Republican Senator Mark Kirk of Illinois when introducing the measures remarked, The Central Bank of Iran is the heart and soul of a web of terror, of nuclear production, of human rights abuse, and the oppression of other peoples, principally in Syria.

US had earlier outlawed any dealings between its banks and the banks of Iran. Imposing such sanctions could adversely affect the markets of Iran and may distort the financial and oil markets of Iran. With the mounting prices of petroleum products, the prohibitions may lead to even higher price rise. The President would have to try to reach a compromise in this matter or veto these sanctions as the global economy may have to face undesirable consequences of such sanctions.

Economic sanctions passed by the US on Iran’s central bank

Report by Radhalakshmi R