WASHINGTON (JTA) — A bipartisan slate of 20 United States senators is set to introduce a new Iran sanctions bill.
The bill, to be introduced as early as Tuesday by Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.), will target entities that provide shipping services, insurance and finance industries to Iran’s energy sector.
The bill also will explicitly support President Obama’s diplomatic outreach as a means of having Iran end its suspected nuclear weapons program. Obama backed similar measures during his presidential campaign and had signed on to a similar bill that failed to come to a vote in the last Congress.
Lieberman, who caucuses with the Democrats, has signed up 11 Democrats and eight Republicans, led by Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), to launch the bill.
A parallel bill is under consideration by the Democratic leadership in the U.S. House of Representatives.
