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U.S. Officials Say Expected Iran Sanctions Could Tie Their Hands

By Colby Adams

The Obama administration Thursday voiced opposition to a Senate plan to bar any foreign bank that knowingly conducts transactions with the Central Bank of Iran from the U.S. financial system. At a hearing of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, top U.S. sanctions officials said that the plan, introduced Monday by Sens. Mark Kirk (R-IL) and Robert Menendez (D-NJ) as an amendment to a defense spending authorization bill, could backfire by driving up oil prices and creating a financial windfall for the Iranian government. The measure, widely expected to be approved by the Senate on Friday, could result in less...

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