Washington (Platts)--27Feb2013/459 pm EST/2159 GMT

A bill that would tighten unilateral US sanctions on trade with Iran was introduced Wednesday by the chairman and ranking member of the House of Representatives' Committee on Foreign Relations.

The bill comes a day after talks concluded between Iran and six allied countries, including the US, about Iran's nuclear ambitions.

Among the bill's provisions is a section that would make it more difficult for nations that continue to buy crude oil from Iran to bypass US sanctions.

The bill would require that, in order to qualify for a 180-day waiver from sanctions, a country must reduce its crude purchases from those of the previous 180-day period. The current law and regulations require significant reductions in purchases, but calculates purchases on an annualized basis.

Current law targets financial institutions operating in countries that purchase crude oil from Iran, but allows for 6-month waivers if a country can show it has "significantly reduced" its purchases.

The US has granted sanctions waivers to 10 countries, includes key allies China, South Korea, India, Turkey and Taiwan. Japan also has qualified for a waiver and has special protection extended to it because of its need to import more oil as a result of the tsunami-related closing of its nuclear power plants.

The bill also would expand purchases used to calculate sanctions and waivers to include Iranian crude purchased from third parties.

Finally, the bill would encourage President Barack Obama to work with European allies to restrict access and use of the euro currency by Iran for transactions, including those through the payment systems of the European Central Bank.

"Iran's continued march toward nuclear weapons is the gravest threat facing the United States and our allies," Representative Ed Royce, Republican-California, said in a statement. Royce is the committee's chairman. "We must build on existing sanctions to maximize economic pressure and prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapons capability."

While the bill has not yet been scheduled for a hearing, Iran sanctions bills typically have enjoyed wide bipartisan support in Congress.

--Gary Gentile, gary_gentile@platts.com
--Edited by Jeff Barber, jeff_barber@platts.com

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