The US government has obligated almost $880 million in recent years to seven foreign firms that had commercial activity in Iran's energy sector, the US Government Accountability Office said on Wednesday. US lawmakers upset by what they see as companies continuing to help Iran's economy, which they say indirectly aids its nuclear program, held a hearing in the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Wednesday.
Foreign companies that invest in Iran's energy sector can be sanctioned under US law. Washington suspects Iran's nuclear programme is aimed at making a bomb. The GAO statement was a follow-on to a report it did in March, in which it identified 41 foreign firms that have commercial activity in Iran's energy sector. Almost 90 percent of the US funds in these contracts were obligated for purchases of fuel and petroleum products overseas, Joseph Christoff, director of International Affairs and Trade at the GAO, said in testimony prepared for a Senate committee.
Republican Senator Susan Collins said she was "deeply troubled" that the US government still does business with companies that are "at least indirectly, aiding and abetting Iran's nuclear program by investing in the Iranian economy."
Collins said that current law needed to be enforced; but in light of the new information, Congress also needed to strengthen its sanctions against Iran. The seven companies were Repsol of Spain; Total of France; Daelim Industrial Company of South Korea; ENI of Italy; PTT Exploration and Production of Thailand; Hyundai Heavy Industries of South Korea; and GS Engineering and Construction of South Korea.
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