WASHINGTON: Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid will ask the US Senate to approve a new package of oil and economic sanctions on Thursday aimed at pressuring Iran to abandon its nuclear program, a Democratic leadership aide told Reuters.

The politically popular sanctions are focused on foreign banks that handle transactions for Iran’s national oil and tanker companies, and include measures to close loopholes in existing sanctions.

Iran has insisted its nuclear programme is for civilian purposes.

The sanctions build on penalties signed into law by President Barack Obama in December that have made it difficult for Tehran, the world’s third-largest petroleum exporter, to sell its oil, in a bid to cut the flow of revenues suspected of supporting the nuclear program.

The move comes ahead of negotiations next week in Baghdad between Iran and world powers concerned about Tehran’s nuclear program.

The bill was revised from a version passed in February by the Senate Banking Committee, the aide said, noting the revised bill has received strong support from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac), a powerful pro-Israel lobby group.

Reid brought the bill before the Senate in March for a “unanimous consent” voice vote, but that failed because some Republican senators had sought amendments, such as sanctions on companies that insure trade with Iran.

The revised bill includes sanctions on companies supplying telecommunications equipment used to monitor dissidents, the aide said, and adds non-binding language urging the Obama administration to sanction insurers of oil shipments, the aide said.

“Aipac has signed off on this and is strongly supporting it  and is urging Republicans to do the same,” the aide said.