LONDON/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Britain ordered its financial institutions Monday to halt all business with Iranian counterparts, including the central bank, and the United States is also expected to tighten sanctions over Tehran’s nuclear program.

The British move however will not target trade in Iranian oil, a source familiar with the sanctions said. It also appeared unlikely that the U.S. Treasury would try to cut off the Iranian banking system entirely, a move that could disrupt global energy markets and harm the U.S. economic recovery.

Britain said the sanctions were in response to the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) latest report on Iran, which highlighted fresh concerns about the possible military dimensions of Tehran’s nuclear program.

“We believe that the Iranian regime’s actions pose a significant threat to the UK’s national security and the international community. Today’s announcement is a further step to preventing the Iranian regime from acquiring nuclear weapons,” said finance minister George Osborne.

In Washington, a U.S. official said the Treasury Department planned to designate Iran as an area of “primary money laundering concern” Monday, a move allowing it to take steps to isolate the Iranian financial sector further.

PRACTICAL DIFFERENCE?

Henry Smith, Middle East analyst at the Control Risks consultancy in London, said the British move may not significantly affect Iran’s major oil customers.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States plans to sanction Iran’s petrochemical industry, sources familiar with the matter said on Friday, seeking to raise pressure on Tehran after fresh allegations it may be pursuing nuclear weapons.

The sources said Washington wanted to send a strong signal after the U.N. nuclear watchdog issued a November 8 report saying Iran appeared to have worked on designing an atomic bomb and may still be secretly carrying out related research.

The sources, who spoke on condition that they not be named, said the sanctions could be unveiled as early as Monday.

They said the United States was looking to find a way to bar foreign companies from aiding Iran’s petrochemical industry with the threat of depriving them access to the U.S. market.

While European nations have historically resented such “extra-territorial” U.S. sanctions seeking to punish their companies, in this case the sources said the European nations were themselves likely to follow suit, though not immediately.

U.S. firms are barred from most trade with Iran. The U.S. push is therefore aimed at foreign firms by in effect making them choose between working with Iran’s petrochemical industry or doing business in the vast U.S. market.

It was not clear what authorities the Obama administration planned to invoke to impose the sanctions or precisely how, and how much, they would hurt Iran’s petrochemical sector.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is making a mockery of democracy by running for a third term as president, former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Wednesday.

Having already been president from 2000 to 2008 before becoming prime minister, Putin on September 24 unveiled plans to swap jobs with President Dmitry Medvedev, allowing the duo to continue their joint rule.

“First of all, the way that the whole thing was done makes a bit of a mockery of the electoral process,” Rice said in an interview to promote “No Higher Honor,” her memoir of serving as Republican former President George W. Bush’s national security adviser and secretary of state.

Asked if it was a good idea for Putin to run again, Rice said “no” and sighed. “It’s unfortunate.”

If Putin is elected in March as universally expected, Rice said, there is a chance, and perhaps a probability, that he may try to limit dissent and centralize power more than he had during his earlier incarnation as president.

However, Rice, a Stanford University Soviet specialist before entering government, said Russia’s integration into the world economy may over time limit his ability to curb civil and political liberties.

“There will be certain constraints and realities even for Vladimir Putin,” she added, saying Russians have a greater sense of the wider world through travel and the Internet and may not tolerate political repression.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Pakistan took a lot of criticism in Saturday’s Republican presidential debate, with a leading candidate saying it was nearly a failed state and another suggesting the United States cut its foreign aid to zero.

But it is unclear whether any of their ideas is likely to be imposed on a country that has nuclear weapons and whose cooperation is seen as vital to stabilizing Afghanistan as the United States prepares to pull out from there by the end of 2014.

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney said Pakistan has multiple centers of power including the relatively weak civilian leadership, the military and the powerful intelligence agency know as the Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate.

“The right way to deal with Pakistan is to recognize that Pakistan is not a country, like other countries, with a strong political center that you can go to and say, ‘Gee, can we come here, will you take care of this problem?’” Romney said.

“This is instead a nation which is close to being a failed state. I hope it doesn’t reach that point, but it’s really a fragile nation,” he said.

Polls point to Romney as the Republican who would be the most likely among the party’s crop of candidates to defeat President Barack Obama, a Democrat, in the November 2012 U.S. presidential election. The Republicans begin choosing their nominee in state contests beginning in January.

Texas Governor Rick Perry suggested that every country, including Pakistan, should see its U.S. aid eliminated each year and then should convince the United States why it deserves any money at all.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. government on Thursday delayed approval of a Canada-to-Texas oil pipeline until after the 2012 U.S. election, bowing to pressure from environmentalists and sparing President Barack Obama a damaging split with liberal voters he may need to win reelection.

The decision to explore a new route for TransCanada Corp’s Keystone XL oil pipeline to avoid fragile territory in the Sand Hills of Nebraska dismayed the Canadian government, which had lobbied assiduously for the $7 billion project.

It also drew a harsh reaction from the oil industry and from Republicans in Congress who accused Obama of sacrificing jobs for the sake of his reelection.

The State Department suggested that looking at new routes for the pipeline within the state of Nebraska would take until at least the first quarter of 2013, well beyond the November 6, 2012 U.S. election. The department had previously said it hoped to make a final decision by the end of this year.

TransCanada, which proposes to build and operate the pipeline, said it remained confident that it would ultimately win approval. Industry analysts had previously said a significant delay could kill the project.

The Obama administration said U.S. domestic politics played no part in the decision. Analysts suggested the delay may actually be an effort to split the difference.

“Politically it’s an effort to avoid antagonizing either side of the issue,” said David Pumphrey, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and former Energy Department official.

WASHINGTON, Nov 10 (Reuters) – The United States said on Thursday it will study a new route for the Keystone XL Canada-to-Texas oil pipeline, delaying any final approval beyond the U.S. 2012 election and sparing U.S. President Barack Obama a politically risky decision during an election year.

The decision was a victory for environmental groups, who say producing oil sands crude emits large amounts of greenhouse gases. It was a blow to TransCanada Corp (TRP.TO: Quote, Profile, Research), which planned to build and operate the conduit.

The State Department said that based on past experience a study of the new route could be completed as early as the first three months of 2013, well past the Nov. 6 2012 U.S. presidential election.

Department officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the new study a would examine a route that avoids the environmentally sensitive Sand Hills of Nebraska.

The U.S. State Department had previously said it hoped to make a decision on the $7 billion project by the end of this year.

Analysts have said a long delay could kill the pipeline project because it would cause shippers and refiners to look for alternative routes to get Canadian oil sands crude.

The White House denied that the decision to look into a new route was politically motivated.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States will study a new route for the Keystone XL Canada-to-Texas oil pipeline, U.S. officials said on Thursday, delaying any final approval beyond the 2012 election and sparing President Barack Obama a politically risky decision for now.

The delay was a victory for environmentalists who say oil sands crude development emits large amounts of greenhouse gases. It would deal a blow to companies developing Alberta’s oil sands and to TransCanada Corp, which planned to build and operate the conduit.

Analysts have said a long delay could kill the $7 billion project because it would cause shippers and refiners to look for alternative routes to get Canadian oil sands crude.

It was not immediately clear what effect the decision — which sources briefed on the matter said would delay any final approval for the $7 billion project by at least a year — would have on U.S.-Canada relations.

The Keystone XL project is seen as the most important North American oil pipeline plan for several decades and was strongly championed by Canadian officials.

One source familiar with the matter said that studying a new route for the pipeline would likely take 12-18 months, putting a final decision after President Barack Obama’s bid for reelection on November 6, 2012.

“It’s a huge victory, and it would probably be the biggest environmental gift that President Barack Obama has given us,” said Tony Iallonardo, a spokesman at the National Wildlife Federation.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States may decide within weeks whether to pursue a new route for the Keystone XL Canada-to-Texas pipeline, a U.S. official said on Wednesday, a step that may delay a final decision on the politically sensitive project beyond the 2012 U.S. election.

Such a delay in TransCanada Corp’s $7 billion pipeline could be a serious setback for a project considered the most important North American crude conduit in decades. A study of the environmental and other effects of a new route could take 12 to 18 months, the U.S. official told Reuters.

President Barack Obama’s decision on the project is being scrutinized by environmentalists who oppose the project and by proponents who say it would create jobs, a central issue in his 2012 re-election campaign.

There have been growing signs that the State Department would miss the year-end deadline to approve the 1,700 mile/ project.

The U.S. official, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said the government could opt for an alter native route to shift it away from an ecologically sensitive area in Nebraska — requiring an environmental study that could take approval of the line beyond the November 2012 election.

“The best judgment is somewhere between a year and 18 months,” the official said. The timeframe was based on past experience and was not a precise estimate. It could happen faster, given that only a portion of the pipeline’s would be changed, but was unlikely to be completed in less than a year, he said.

Some of Obama’s liberal supporters have strongly opposed the project and the president risks alienating this important constituency ahead of the November 2012 election if his administration approves it.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States may impose more sanctions on Iran, possibly on commercial banks or front companies, but is unlikely to go after its oil and gas sector or its central bank for now, a U.S. official said on Tuesday.

The official spoke after the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. nuclear watchdog, completed a new report that said Iran has worked on developing an atomic bomb design and may still be conducting relevant research.

Citing what it called “credible” information from member states and elsewhere, the agency listed a series of activities applicable to developing nuclear weapons, such as high explosives testing and development of an atomic bomb trigger.

“I think you will see bilateral sanctions increasing,” the official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters.

However, because of Russian and Chinese opposition, chances for another U.N. Security Council resolution sanctioning Iran for its atomic program are slim, the official said.

“We will be looking to impose additional pressure on the Iranian government if they are unable to answer the questions raised by this report,” a second U.S. official told reporters on condition of anonymity. “That could include additional sanctions by the United States. It could also include steps that we take together with other nations.”

The United States has long suspected Iran of using its civil nuclear program as a cover for developing a nuclear weapons capability. Iran says its atomic program is peaceful and designed to generate electricity.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States must develop new transpacific trade and investment agreements to channel China’s huge economic power into a “rules-based” international system that benefits all, a top State Department official said on Monday.

As President Barack Obama prepares for two Asia-Pacific summits next week, Undersecretary of State Robert Hormats said the global economic shift toward Asia had highlighted new challenges as Washington’s budget crunch prompts questions about U.S. economic and political strength.

“There’s competition between the American economic model and the more state-centered economic model of China and other countries,” Hormats told the Reuters Washington Summit.

“What is very important as we look at ourselves and our relationship to the world is to demonstrate that our economic model continues to work and continues to deliver,” he said.

Hormats, the top U.S. diplomat for international economic policy, said Beijing’s influence was rising around the world including in Europe, where officials hope China may support a European bailout fund by investing some of its $3.2 trillion in foreign exchange reserves.

Washington would not see a Chinese rescue plan as a threat, Hormats said, but hoped European leaders would not make concessions on economic or foreign policy principles to tap into Chinese largesse.

“The Europeans are going to have to decide what commitments or what concessions they want to make in order to get this money,” he said, speaking at Reuters’ Washington office. “They are quite aware that money doesn’t come free in this world and they have to make the judgment as to the right balance.”