The U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee Wednesday passed the Iran Refined Petroleum Sanctions Act, a bill targeting Tehran and the firms conducting energy business with the state.

The bill - part of a larger effort to halt Tehran's nuclear enrichment program - gives the Obama administration stronger powers to sanction companies that provide Iran with gasoline, diesel and other refined petroleum fuels.

The measure, which is co-signed by almost three quarters of the House membership, passed by a voice vote.

Despite being one of the largest exporters of crude in the world, Iran imports a major portion of its gasoline needs due to a dearth of refining capacity.

Chairman Howard Berman, (D. Calif.), said the bill will "maximize the chances that Iran, the leading state sponsor of terrorism, will be prevented from acquiring the capacity to produce nuclear arms."

"That capacity would pose perhaps the most serious strategic threat to our nation," he said.

"It will, at least, force the Iranians to think twice about continuing to flout the will of the international community," Berman added.

France's Total SA (TOT), India's Reliance Industries Ltd. (500325.BY), Swiss company Vitol Holding BV and BP PLC (BP), are some of the largest suppliers of refined products to Iran.

The U.S. and intelligence agencies fear Iran is pursuing a nuclear weapons program, a concern exacerbated by the revelation of a new, secret enrichment facility and as Tehran tests its missile capabilities.

U.S. and international sanctions through the United Nations have so far failed to break the political stalemate with Iran.

The Senate Banking Committee is scheduled to vote on a nearly identical bill Thursday.

Mark Dubowitz, executive director of the Foundation for Defense said that while the legislation "may not be the silver bullet that ends the regime's illegal nuclear weapons program, but they can be silver shrapnel which can severely wound the regime."

Dubowitz said that with the Iranian parliament approving a cut to country's generous energy subsidy to curb demand, the threat had already put Tehran on the defensive. He said such a decision will likely drive up inflation, compounding Iran's existing economic woes, potentially fanning a recent political uprising against the ruling regime.

The bill expands the existing Iran Sanctions Act to cover a broader range of financial institutions, and extend sanctions to oil and gas pipelines, tankers and the petroleum export supply chain. It establishes additional sanctions prohibiting specified foreign exchange, banking and property transactions. The U.S. administration would also have to report back to Congress every six months on which individuals and companies had potentially violated the act.

Currently, the administration hasn't applied the Iran Sanctions Act to any company for nearly a decade, though a raft of companies have invested more than the threshold amount. State Department officials have said applying sanctions against companies based in other countries raised sovereignty issues and complicates negotiations for multilateral sanctions.

-By Ian Talley, Dow Jones Newswires, 202-862-9285; ian.talley@dowjones.com