Iranian sanctions may increase if the house passes a new bipartisan bill. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

The House Foreign Affairs Committee has adopted a new package of sanctions against Iran to further discourage the country from using its nuclear research to build nuclear weapons. American Israel Public Affairs Committee praised the the Nuclear Iran Prevention Act (H.R. 850) and urged the House to pass the measure.

If passed, the bill will give U.S. President Barack Obama the power to bar businesses from operating in the U.S. if they have any significant commercial trade with the Islamic Republic. House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-CA) and Ranking Member Eliot Engel (D-NY) authored the bill. It will also expand penalties against those who violate existing Iran sanctions and increase sanctions specifically targeting human rights violations in Iran. The bill now has bi-partisan 344 co-sponsors.