For most of this year, the threat of tough U.S. sanctions on Iran, the world's third-largest oil exporter, helped push crude oil prices higher and higher, adding a menacing headwind for struggling global economies.
But in the past few weeks, a combination of higher output from Iran's rival Saudi Arabia and economic troubles in China and Europe have pushed oil prices down 25 percent, putting the threat of sanctions back squarely on Iran.
As June 28 approaches - the day the law allows U.S. President Barack Obama to enforce sanctions on countries that do oil deals with Iran's central bank - Washington is revving up efforts to tighten the squeeze on Tehran.
Lawmakers in Congress hope to finalize in July a new package of sanctions aimed at further crippling Iran's oil revenues after international talks in Moscow last week failed to convince Tehran to scale back its nuclear program.
"Thanks to Saudi production increases and the slump in Europe, it appears that we can have our cake and eat it too," said Suzanne Maloney, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution's Saban Center for Middle East Policy.
"We can exact a painful price on Tehran for its recalcitrance and avoid any blowback to our own economy, at least in the near term," Maloney said.
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/27/us-usa-iran-sanctions-idUSBRE85Q06520120627
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