Ros-Lehtinen Calls for Investigation Into Possible Violations of U.S. Law by Venezuela State Oil Company Linked to Iran |
WASHINGTON, Feb. 6 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- U.S. Rep. Ileana
Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) today requested that the Bush administration launch an
investigation into whether a recently reported petrochemical sector
agreement between the governments of Venezuela and Iran violates U.S. law.
Late last year, Venezuela's state-run Petroleos de Venezuela SA
(PdVSA), which operates in the United States under the CITGO brand, and
Iran's Petropars, a unit of the National Iranian Oil Company, announced
that they would form a $1 billion global oil and gas venture.
"I am deeply concerned about these reports involving the Venezuelan
state-run oil company and its links to Iran," said Ros-Lehtinen, Ranking
Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
In her request to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Treasury
Secretary Henry Paulson, Ros-Lehtinen said an examination should focus on
whether a PdVSA-Petropars partnership violates either the letter or the
spirit of the Iran Sanctions Act.
The law is intended to deter investment in Iran and impede the
country's ability to finance its nuclear development and its support of
terrorism. Ros-Lehtinen's letter specifically seeks information about
whether CITGO benefits financially from Iranian investment in Venezuela's
energy sector or Venezuelan investment in Iran's energy sector and whether
foreign oil companies or their subsidiaries have violated U.S. law.
"We must ensure that U.S. law is fully implemented and enforced as a
means of denying Iran the ability to develop unconventional weapons
capabilities, fund terrorist organizations, or pursue other destructive
policies," Ros-Lehtinen said.
"In our oversight role, we have a duty to ensure that U.S. law has not
been violated, and I strongly urge other members of the Committee to join
us in our efforts," Ros-Lehtinen concluded.
SOURCE House Committee on Foreign Affairs (Republican Office)
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Sam Stratman, +1-202-226-7875, or Alex Cruz,
+1-202-225-8200, both of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs
