New Iran Counter Proliferation Bill

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Tom Lantos (D-CA) and Ranking Member Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) introduced the Iran Counter Proliferation Act of 2007 (H.R. 1400). This bill aims to put additional economic and political pressures on Iran in order to impede Iran’s efforts to obtain nuclear capabilities. A nuclear capable Iran would threaten the entire Middle Eastern region. As as Iran is a Shiite state, other Sunni states in the region, such as Saudi Arabia, will feel pressure to develope their own nuclear weapons. Also, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has repeated called for Israel to be “wiped off the map”. Israel is America's only ally in the region and has been a strong partner in the war on terror.
Similar bills against Iran have been passed before, but this legislation closes loopholes and essentially calls for divestment from Iran. Further details of the bill can be found here. In an article from The Hill, “Lantos called the bill the single most important piece of legislation members of Congress will consider this year.”