Choose our $13-trn mkt or Iran's $250-bn: US lawmakers to RIL

Asking India's Reliance Industries and other energy firms doing trade with Iran to choose either Tehran or Washington, US Senators have moved a bill aimed at penalising such companies.     

"We know who these companies are — Shell, Vitol, BP and Reliance — and we need to give them a choice: you can do business with Iran's $250 billion economy or our $13 trillion economy, but not both," said senator Jon Kyl, who was a part of the bipartisan coalition of 25 senators that introduced the bill.      

The senators have sought to strengthen President Barack Obama's authority for stopping Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons through their proposed legislation, which targets foreign companies that sell gasoline or other refined petroleum products to Iran.      

The legislation also authorises the President to impose stronger penalties on these firms, including a ban on conducting business in the US.     

The legislation, introduced in the US Senate yesterday, comes within days of another resolution introduced in the House of Representatives on April 21 to enhance the Obama administration's diplomatic efforts with respect to Iran by expanding economic sanctions against the country.