WASHINGTON — The Senate endorsed stringent new sanctions on Iran’s energy and shipping sectors in a fresh attempt to hobble the Islamic Republic’s economy and hamper its nuclear ambitions.
Ignoring White House opposition spelled out just hours before the vote, the Senate voted 94-0 on Friday for a package of punitive measures that would end sales and transactions with various Iranian domestic industries. Arkansas’ Sens. Mark Pryor, a Democrat, and John Boozman, a Republican, voted for the sanctions.
The sanctions build upon penalties that Congress has passed — and President Barack Obama has implemented — that target Tehran’s financial and energy sectors.
Officials in Washington argue that the sanctions have undermined Tehran’s economy and robust oil sales, thwarting its suspected pursuit of a nuclear weapon. Iran insists its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.
The overwhelming bipartisan vote on an amendment to a sweeping $631 billion defense bill reflected fears about the Iranian threat and the United States’ unwavering support for its closest Mideast ally, Israel.
Shortly before the vote, the powerful pro-Israel lobby, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, urged senators to back the sanctions.
Sens. Bob Menendez, DN.J., and Mark Kirk, R-Ill., who have shepherded sanctions bills through Congress, sponsored the latest package that also would close a major loophole — the ability of Iran to circumvent sanctions and barter oil for precious metals. Turkey has been bartering gold for oil.
The sanctions would designate Iran’s energy, port, shipping and shipbuilding sectors as “entities of proliferation” and sanction transactions with these areas. The legislation also would penalize individuals selling or supplying commodities such as graphite, aluminum and steel to Iran, all products that are crucial to Tehran’s shipbuilding and nuclear operations.
In a memorandum from the National Security Council just hours before the vote, the administration argued that the new sanctions were unnecessary, duplicative and “threaten to confuse and undermine” provisions in current law.
Specifically, the administration complained about the omission of waivers that would give the president more flexibility, ambiguities that would make implementation difficult and requirements for congressional reports on thousands of small and midsize vessels that dock at Iranian seaports that were too burdensome.
Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin, D-Mich., acknowledged the administration’s reservations and said he hoped lawmakers could address those concerns in crafting the final version of the bill.
The legislation also would designate Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting and its president as human-rights abusers for broadcasting forced televised confessions and show trials.
The president has 90 days from the legislation’s enactment to act. The bill does include the authority to waive the sanctions based on national security.
The overall defense policy bill for next year authorizes money for weapons, ships, aircraft and a 1.7 percent pay raise for military personnel. The total is $4 billion less than the House-passed bill, and House-Senate negotiators will have to work out the difference in the closing days of this year.
Late Thursday, the Senate revived a divisive debate over civil liberties and the president’s powers as commander in chief, voting that American citizens suspected of terrorism and seized on U.S. soil may not be held indefinitely.
A coalition of liberal Democrats and libertarian Republicans backed an amendment that said the government cannot detain a U.S. citizen or legal resident indefinitely without charge or trial even with the authorization to use military force or a declaration of war.
The Senate voted 67-29 in support of the measure sponsored by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, and Republican Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky and Mike Lee of Utah.
Boozman supported the measure, while Pryor opposed it.
The strong bipartisan approval sets up a fight with the House, which rejected efforts to bar indefinite detention when it passed its bill in May.
Ignoring a White House veto threat, the Senate also voted Thursday to add to its restrictions on Obama’s authority in dealing with terror suspects.
Lawmakers approved an amendment that would prevent the transfer of detainees held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to prisons in the United States. The vote was 54-41, with several Democrats facing 2014 re-election contests — such as Pryor — voting with Republicans. Boozman also voted for the amendment.
Current law denies suspected terrorists, including U.S. citizens seized within the nation’s borders, the right to trial and subjects them to the possibility they would be held indefinitely. It reaffirms the post-Sept. 11 authorization for the use of military force that allows indefinite detention of enemy combatants.
Front Section, Pages 2 on 12/01/2012