Washington:
President Barack Obama warned Iran, it faced mounting pressure and isolation, as he signed tough new US sanctions that he said would strike at Tehran's capacity to finance its nuclear program.
The measures, on top of new UN Security Council and European sanctions, aim to choke off Iran's access to imports of refined petroleum products like gasoline and jet fuel and curb its access to the international banking system.
"With these sanctions ,along with others , we are striking at the heart of the Iranian government's ability to fund and develop its nuclear programmess," Obama said at a White House ceremony, before signing the sanctions into law.
"We are showing the Iranian government that its actions have consequences, and if it persists, the pressure will continue to mount, and its isolation will continue to deepen. There should be no doubt that the United States and the international community are determined to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons," said Obama
The US Senate and House of Representatives approved the legislation, which backers described as the toughest ever unilateral US sanctions against the Islamic republic, by crushing 99-0 and 408-8 margins last week.
The United States spent months assembling an international coalition for new United Nations Security Council sanctions on Iran, which passed last month. The measures, the fourth such set of UN penalties levied on Iran, are meant to punish Tehran for refusing to halt its uranium enrichment work, the most sensitive part of its atomic drive.
In response, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Monday that he would postpone nuclear talks as a "penalty" to world powers as a result of the latest UN sanctions. The new US sanctions are effectively designed to force foreign firms to chose whether to do business with Iran or the United States.
The law shuts US markets to firms that provide Iran with refined petroleum products that the oil-rich nation must import to meet demand because of a weak domestic refining capability. It also takes aim at firms that invest in Iran's energy sector, including non-US companies that provide financing, insurance, or shipping services.
It could also see non-US banks doing business with certain blacklisted Iranian entities, including Iran's elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and several banks, shut out of the US financial system.
Obama noted that Iran had spurned the offer of dialogue that he had made last year on coming to office.
The measures, on top of new UN Security Council and European sanctions, aim to choke off Iran's access to imports of refined petroleum products like gasoline and jet fuel and curb its access to the international banking system.
"With these sanctions ,along with others , we are striking at the heart of the Iranian government's ability to fund and develop its nuclear programmess," Obama said at a White House ceremony, before signing the sanctions into law.
"We are showing the Iranian government that its actions have consequences, and if it persists, the pressure will continue to mount, and its isolation will continue to deepen. There should be no doubt that the United States and the international community are determined to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons," said Obama
The US Senate and House of Representatives approved the legislation, which backers described as the toughest ever unilateral US sanctions against the Islamic republic, by crushing 99-0 and 408-8 margins last week.
The United States spent months assembling an international coalition for new United Nations Security Council sanctions on Iran, which passed last month. The measures, the fourth such set of UN penalties levied on Iran, are meant to punish Tehran for refusing to halt its uranium enrichment work, the most sensitive part of its atomic drive.
In response, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Monday that he would postpone nuclear talks as a "penalty" to world powers as a result of the latest UN sanctions. The new US sanctions are effectively designed to force foreign firms to chose whether to do business with Iran or the United States.
The law shuts US markets to firms that provide Iran with refined petroleum products that the oil-rich nation must import to meet demand because of a weak domestic refining capability. It also takes aim at firms that invest in Iran's energy sector, including non-US companies that provide financing, insurance, or shipping services.
It could also see non-US banks doing business with certain blacklisted Iranian entities, including Iran's elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and several banks, shut out of the US financial system.
Obama noted that Iran had spurned the offer of dialogue that he had made last year on coming to office.
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