Report: US plans new sanctions targeting Iran's energy sector

Nov 19, 2011, 14:00 GMT

Washington - The United States plans to impose sanctions targeting Iran's petrochemical sector over the Islamic republic's disputed nuclear programme, CNN quoted unnamed diplomatic sources as saying on Saturday.

US companies are prohibited from doing business with Iran under previous sanctions. Under the new measures, foreign companies that do business with Iran's petrochemical industry would be threatened with a ban on operating in the US, the report said.

The report came a day after the United Nations nuclear agency passed a resolution in which it expressed 'deep and increasing concern' about Iran's nuclear programme, which the West suspects is designed to make a nuclear weapons. Iran denies this.

Iran's multi-billion-dollar petrochemical sector is a key pillar of the economy and a major source of income for the regime. The diplomatic source told CNN that the European Union would impose similar sanctions at a meeting next week.

Pressure has been mounting on Iran to allay concerns about its nuclear activities after the publication of a report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that presented evidence that Iran had tested designs used to make a nuclear warhead.

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