Iran sanction bill not effective: US experts

A US congress legislation barring companies that sell fuel to Iran from securing deals with the US government will likely have little impact on the country, experts say.

The US Senate on Thursday approved legislation to punish foreign oil companies from doing business with Iran, marking the first time both chambers of Congress have cleared the same bill imposing economic sanctions.

The legislation was then sent to US President Barack Obama in a move meant to punish Iran for refusing to halt its peaceful nuclear program.

In spite of Iran’s denial and various reports by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), some Wetern coutries spearheaded by the US accuse Iran of running a military nuclear program under the guise of civilian enrichment activities.

Experts, however, believe that there was “very little prospect” that such measures would have any effect on the country’s nuclear program.

“I think what Congress is doing is all too predictable given the political utility of passing these kinds of measures in this environment. But I don’t think it is a particular asset to American diplomacy,” Iran expert at the Brookings Institution, Suzanne Maloney, told AFP on Sunday.

The US congressional action “may alienate some of the most important allies of Iran,” Maloney added.

“We have at this stage at least a reasonable beginning to a diplomatic process with Iran. These measures I think only create the prospect for the administration to be working against itself,” she added.

Indiana University professor, Jamsheed Choksy also said such sanctions will only “drive up the cost of Iranians doing business.”

“The current sanctions that have just been passed by Congress and the future ones that they are also contemplating are also likewise not to be effective,” he said.

Iran has been under US sanctions for the past thirty years after the 1979 Islamic Revolution deposed the absolute monarchy of US-backed Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.