House International Relations Committee to Hold Hearing On China/Iran MOU
Representative Tom Lantos (D-CA), the incoming chairman of the House International Relations Committee, has announced that he will hold a hearing in January to determine if the China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC) violated the Iran Freedom Support Act by entering into an agreement with the Government of Iran to develop gas fields in Iran.
It has also been reported that U.S. embassy officials in Beijing delivered a demarche to Chinese Government officials asking for additional information on the deal.
The Iran Freedom Support Act (previously known as the Iran-Libya Sanctions Act) requires the President to impose sanctions on foreign companies that make an "investment" of more than $20 million in one year in Iran's energy sector. To date, no sanctions have been imposed under the current or previous versions of the sanctions law.
Labels: Sanctions
|posted by Douglas N. Jacobson| Permalink 
