The United States and its allies are swiftly tightening an economic cordon around Iran by imposing new strictures that could inflict far more economic pain on the Islamic republic than previous sanctions.

On Thursday, European Union governments agreed to ban companies from investing in or otherwise assisting Iran's oil and gas industry -- measures that went well beyond a U.N. Security Council resolution last week that reiterated international demands that Iran forswear nuclear weapons. Along with the United States, Australia, Japan, South Korea and other countries are set to adopt or strengthen their own sanctions against trading with Iran.

The cascading effect appears to validate the Obama administration's strategy of accepting a watered-down U.N. resolution, with a less-than-unanimous vote, to move to the next stage in the confrontation with Iran: tough unilateral sanctions imposed by individual nations..............

Full Story: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/17/AR2010061706003.html