Washington, DC – Chairman Tom Lantos of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs issued the following statement today in response to the Administration’s announcement of tightened sanctions against Iran:

“I commend the Administration on its new, far-reaching sanctions on the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps, the Quds Force, and associated institutions and individuals. These sanctions will have a significant impact on Iran’s energy sector. We need to use every available peaceful means – diplomatic, economic and political – to resolve the Iranian nuclear problem, and serious sanctions are the surest way to do that without firing a shot.

“I hope this latest action signals that the Administration will now begin at last to place sanctions on foreign companies that invest in Iran’s energy sector, as required by law, and support expansion of those sanctions. Refusal to do so is simply inexplicable.”

Lantos is the author of the Iran Counter-Proliferation Act (H.R. 1400), which the House passed by a vote of 397-16 last month. The legislation removes the Executive Branch’s authority under current law to waive sanctions on companies investing in Iran’s energy sector, which supports the country’s nuclear weapons program. It also blocks U.S. civil nuclear cooperation with countries that assist Iran’s nuclear program.