In a statement Friday, Debra DeLee, president of Americans for Peace Now, urged that the bill be modified when members of the House and Senate meet to reconcile their respective versions of the legislation.

by Ali Gharib

WASHINGTON, Jan 29 (IPS) - In a surprisingly swift move on Thursday night that could have wide-ranging implications, the U.S. Senate passed a bill containing broad unilateral sanctions to punish foreign companies that export gasoline to Iran or help expand its domestic refinery capabilities.

The Jerusalem Post is reporting that Israel's Ambassador to Washington, Michael Oren -- yes, the same Michael Oren who apparently was deeply wounded (or many people were wounded on his behalf) by criticism leveled at him by President Obama's new Antisemitism envoy Hannah Rosenthal, who callously suggested (in response to a question) that it was "unfortunate" when Oren publicly and quite un-diplomatically told the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism's biennial convention that J Street  is "a unique problem" -- is now in the business of telling President Obama what the next steps for the US on Iran should be.  JPost reports: 

"The next step, according to Ambassador to the US Michael Oren, should be 'imposing crippling sanctions' on the Teheran regime, which is in keeping with the pledge Oren said Obama made to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu in May that the US would end the engagement phase toward Iran if it were unsuccessful by year's end. Oren told The Jerusalem Post that 'there isn't an Israeli view and an American view' on the Iranian question, but rather 'one view.'"

Never mind that the Administration has made clear it doesn't like the "crippling sanctions" Oren is referring to -- sanctions more commonly known as the Iran Refined Petroleum Sanctions Act (IRPSA) and being energetically pushed by most of the organized Jewish community (pretty much everyone but APN).  

And never mind that Oren appears to be at odds with his bosses in his call for these "crippling sanctions," since Israeli officials reportedly are on board with the Obama Administration's efforts to pursue multilateral sanctions.

And never mind that Obama did not come close to making any such "pledge" to Bibi in May.