WASHINGTON, July 1 (Reuters) – U.S. President Barack Obama signed into law on Thursday far-reaching new sanctions on Iran that aim to squeeze the Islamic Republic’s fuel imports and deepen its international isolation.

Obama said the new sanctions were the toughest ever passed by the U.S. Congress and would make it harder for Iran to buy refined petroleum as well as goods and services to modernize its oil and natural gas sector, the mainstay of its economy. [ID:nN01144551]

While the door to diplomacy remained open, he said, Iran would come under even greater international pressure if it continued to defy international calls to halt its uranium enrichment program.

The United States and its European allies suspect Iran is trying to build an atomic bomb, despite Tehran’s insistence that its nuclear program is for the peaceful generation of electricity.

“There should be no doubt — the United States and the international community are determined to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons,” Obama said at the signing of the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act at the White House.

European Union leaders agreed last month to tighten U.N. sanctions on Iran with additional measures targeting Iran’s financial, banking, insurance, transportation and energy sectors.

The new U.S. sanctions go much further than the measures agreed to by the U.N. Security Council in June and are aimed at ratcheting up pressure on Iran to persuade it to return to international talks on its disputed nuclear program.

LONDON/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – BP Plc, seeking to restore investor confidence and rehabilitate its image, reorganized its management of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, while its stock tumbled to a 13-year low on Tuesday.

The embattled British energy giant, struggling to overcome a number of public relations gaffes by Chief Executive Tony Hayward, confirmed that managing director Bob Dudley would be taking over the company’s day-to-day response to the spill.

The move came as shareholders continued to worry about how much BP will finally have to pay for cleaning up the worst oil spill in U.S. history. It already has paid out $2 billion and last week agreed to a $20 billion compensation fund, although this does not cap its total liabilities.

The 64-day-old disaster has shattered confidence in BP, which saw its London share price reach its lowest level since February 1997 on Tuesday, dropping more than 5 percent before coming off lows. The stock fell 2.11 percent in early trading in New York.

The company said on Tuesday it had captured 25,830 barrels (1,084,860 gallons/4,106,641 litres) of oil from its ruptured deepsea well on Monday, the highest amount yet. Between 35,000 and 60,000 barrels a day are gushing from the well, according to U.S. government estimates.

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) – With the worst oil spill in U.S. history presenting a key test of his presidency, President Barack Obama postponed a trip scheduled for this month to Australia and Indonesia, the White House said early on Friday.

It was the second time in a little more than two months that Obama cancelled a trip to the two countries. He previously was due to have gone in March but postponed to stay at home to give a final push to his healthcare overhaul plan in Congress.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told Reuters in an email that Obama postponed the trip again in order to deal with the Gulf of Mexico oil spill and other important issues.

The president is due to travel to the Louisiana Gulf coast to visit affected communities on Friday, his third trip there since an April 20 offshore oil rig explosion that killed 11 workers and triggered the huge spill.

After a series of failed attempts to plug the gushing mile-deep (1.6 km) BP-owned oil well, the Obama administration has come under growing pressure to take a more direct role in the oil spill crisis. Opinion polls show many Americans are unhappy with Obama’s handling of the disaster so far.

In an already difficult congressional election year for Obama’s fellow Democrats, a foreign trip in the midst of what the president himself has called an unprecedented environmental catastrophe would have been hard to sell to Americans frustrated and angered by the six-week-old crisis.

The White House said in a statement that Obama had spoken on Thursday night to Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to inform them of his decision. The trip had been scheduled for June 13-19.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The worst U.S. oil spill in history is testing President Barack Obama’s famed ability to remain cool under pressure. No, he’s not losing it, but many Americans seem to wish he would.

“If there’s any one time to go off, this is it, because this is a disaster,” film director Spike Lee urged Obama in an interview on cable news network CNN.

Obama’s unflappability earned him the nickname “No Drama Obama” on the 2008 campaign trail, and aides cultivated that reputation as he dealt first with a financial crisis and then the worst recession in decades in his first year in office.

From day one, Obama has sought to show that his administration is on top of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, mobilizing ships and military personnel and sending members of his cabinet to inspect clean-up efforts along the coast.

But opinion polls show many Americans are unhappy with his handling of the six-week-old spill, and Gulf coast residents have complained that the federal government has been slow to act and too dependent on energy giant BP for solutions.

Obama is facing criticism that he has not shown enough emotion about a disaster that threatens an ecological catastrophe and the livelihoods of thousands of fishermen along the Gulf Coast.

He has repeatedly said he is angry and frustrated at BP’s failure to stanch the flow, but many Americans apparently want him to show it.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama said on Thursday a powerful hurricane could help to break up the huge Gulf of Mexico oil slick, despite fears that the approaching storm season could complicate the clean-up.

U.S. forecasters have warned that the 2010 Atlantic hurricane season will be more active than feared, and one group of scientists has predicted 10 hurricanes, five of them major.

There are worries that the storms will disrupt efforts to control and clean up oil spewing from a ruptured Gulf of Mexico well owned by BP. More than 1,700 ships have been deployed to help contain the oil slick.

Obama told CNN’s Larry King in an interview he had raised those concerns in a recent meeting at the White House on the oil spill.

“It turns out that — now these are all estimations and probabilities — it turns out that a big, powerful hurricane, ironically is probably less damaging with respect to the oil spill because it just disperses everything and the oil breaks up and degrades more quickly,” Obama said, according to an advance transcript of the interview to be broadcast on Thursday night.

A bigger concern, he said, were less powerful tropical storms that would not break up the oil but wash it ashore and into ecologically fragile marshlands along the Gulf coast.

Up to 19,000 barrels of oil (800,000 gallons or 3 million litres) a day have been gushing into the Gulf of Mexico since a rig drilling a well exploded on April 20, killing 11 workers.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama said on Thursday a powerful hurricane could help to break up the huge Gulf of Mexico oil slick, despite fears that the approaching storm season could complicate the clean-up.

U.S. forecasters have warned that the 2010 Atlantic hurricane season will be more active than feared, and one group of scientists has predicted 10 hurricanes, five of them major.

There are worries that the storms will disrupt efforts to control and clean up oil spewing from a ruptured Gulf of Mexico well owned by BP (BP.L: Quote, Profile, Research). Some 1,700 ships have been deployed to help contain the oil slick.

Obama told CNN’s Larry King in an interview he had raised those concerns in a recent meeting at the White House on the oil spill.

“It turns out that — now these are all estimations and probabilities — it turns out that a big, powerful hurricane, ironically is probably less damaging with respect to the oil spill because it just disperses everything and the oil breaks up and degrades more quickly,” Obama said, according to an advance transcript of the interview to be broadcast on Thursday night.

A bigger concern, he said, were less powerful tropical storms that would not break up the oil but wash it ashore and into ecologically fragile marshlands along the Gulf coast.

Up to 19,000 barrels of oil (800,000 gallons or 3 million liters) a day have been gushing into the Gulf of Mexico since a rig drilling a well exploded on April 20, killing 11 workers.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama hosted Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri at the White House on Monday, with the U.S. leader expected to raise concerns about Syria arming Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon.

Hariri’s first official visit to the United States took place against a backdrop of tensions in the Middle East, U.S. efforts to restart Israeli-Palestinian peace talks and growing momentum toward new international sanctions on Iran.

Analysts expected Obama to be more encouraging in tone than demanding of results in talks with Hariri, who heads a national unity government that includes Hezbollah — a Shi’ite Islamist guerrilla group which is backed by Syria and Iran and is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said on Friday the two leaders would discuss a “broad range of mutual goals in support of Lebanon’s sovereignty and independence, regional peace and security.”

Lebanon and Syria have said they fear a possible attack by the Jewish state after its president, Shimon Peres, accused Syria in April of supplying Hezbollah with long-range Scud missiles capable of hitting Israel. Damascus has denied the charge and accused Israel of fomenting war.

Some U.S. officials have expressed doubt that any Scuds were actually handed over in full to Hezbollah, although they believe Syria might have transferred weapons parts.

“We obviously have grave concerns about the transfer of any missile capability to Hezbollah through Lebanon from Syria,” a senior Obama administration official told Reuters on Friday, saying the issue would likely be raised in Monday’s talks.

WASHINGTON, May 24 (Reuters) – President Barack Obama hosted Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri at the White House on Monday, with the U.S. leader expected to raise concerns about Syria arming Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon. Hariri’s first official visit to the United States took place against a backdrop of tensions in the Middle East, U.S. efforts to restart Israeli-Palestinian peace talks and growing momentum toward new international sanctions on Iran. Analysts expected Obama to be more encouraging in tone than demanding of results in talks with Hariri, who heads a national unity government that includes Hezbollah — a Shi’ite Islamist guerrilla group which is backed by Syria and Iran and is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said on Friday the two leaders would discuss a "broad range of mutual goals in support of Lebanon’s sovereignty and independence, regional peace and security." Lebanon and Syria have said they fear a possible attack by the Jewish state after its president, Shimon Peres, accused Syria in April of supplying Hezbollah with long-range Scud missiles capable of hitting Israel. Damascus has denied the charge and accused Israel of fomenting war. Some U.S. officials have expressed doubt that any Scuds were actually handed over in full to Hezbollah, although they believe Syria might have transferred weapons parts. "We obviously have grave concerns about the transfer of any missile capability to Hezbollah through Lebanon from Syria," a senior Obama administration official told Reuters on Friday, saying the issue would likely be raised in Monday’s talks. Another official said Washington would ask Hariri to continue to support efforts "toward comprehensive regional peace." Apparently trying to keep the spotlight off Middle East tensions, the White House limited press coverage of the meeting to letting news photographers into the Oval Office at the end of the session. There were no plans for the leaders to appear together for public statements. LEBANON’S CHANGING ROLE Hariri has also denied Israel’s accusations, while his government has said it backs the right of the guerrilla group to keep its weapons to deter Israeli attacks. Israel, which fought a 34-day war with Hezbollah in 2006, has not signaled any imminent plans to strike. The war of words heightened tensions in the region, but the U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Michael Williams, noted on Friday "that recent tension is now diminishing." Williams, who held talks with Hariri in Beirut, was quoted by the prime minister’s office as saying he was pleased "that all sides have scaled back the rhetoric." Obama and Hariri are also expected to discuss U.S.-led international efforts to isolate Iran over its disputed nuclear program, officials said. Lebanon holds the rotating presidency of the U.N. Security Council through May 31. Diplomats said Beirut had quietly asked the permanent members of the Security Council — Britain, France, Russia, China and the United States — not to push for a vote on a new Iran sanctions resolution while it held the presidency. Lebanon is expected to abstain in any vote because Iranian-backed Hezbollah is in its government, diplomats said. Jon Alterman, a Middle East expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, said Lebanon no longer enjoyed the status it had under the Bush administration, when it was the "fulcrum" of efforts to spread democracy in the Middle East. The Obama administration’s Middle East policy is more focused on the nuclear stand-off with Iran, war in Afghanistan, and reviving the Middle East peace process, he said. Nevertheless, the United States has expanded military assistance to Lebanon to strengthen its armed forces as a counterweight to Hezbollah, allocating $500 million to training and equipping Lebanese security forces since 2005. (Additional reporting by Matt Spetalnick in Washington, Louis Charbonneau in New York; Editing by Eric Walsh)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama is likely to raise U.S. concerns about Syria arming Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon when he meets Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri on Monday, a U.S. official said on Friday.

Hariri’s first official visit to the United States takes place against a backdrop of tensions in the Middle East, U.S. efforts to restart Israeli-Palestinian peace talks and growing momentum toward new international sanctions on Iran.

Analysts expect Obama to be more encouraging in tone than demanding of results when he meets Hariri, who heads a national unity government that includes Hezbollah — a Shi’ite Islamist guerrilla group which is backed by Syria and Iran and is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said on Friday the two leaders would discuss a “broad range of mutual goals in support of Lebanon’s sovereignty and independence, regional peace and security.”

Lebanon and Syria have said they fear a possible attack by the Jewish state after its president, Shimon Peres, accused Syria in April of supplying Hezbollah with long-range Scud missiles capable of hitting Israel. Damascus has denied the charge and accused Israel of fomenting war.

Some U.S. officials have expressed doubt that any Scuds were actually handed over in full to Hezbollah, although they believe Syria might have transferred weapons parts.

“We obviously have grave concerns about the transfer of any missile capability to Hezbollah through Lebanon from Syria,” a senior Obama administration official told Reuters, saying the issue would likely be raised in Monday’s talks.

SEOUL/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – South Korea accused the reclusive North on Thursday of torpedoing one of its warships, heightening tensions in the region and drawing a warning from Washington that Pyongyang must face consequences.

Jittery South Korean financial markets and its currency fell as Seoul vowed to take “firm” measures against its neighbor. Nuclear North Korea, furiously denying the charge, warned it was ready for war if fresh sanctions were imposed.

The United States, which has about 28,000 troops stationed in the South following the 1950-53 Korean War, said it stood ready to help South Korea defend itself against any further “acts of aggression.

Seoul has made clear it has no plans for a retaliatory strike but will press the international community to take action, probably more sanctions, against the North.

Amid international condemnation of North Korea, the impoverished country’s only major ally, China, said it would make its own assessment of the South Korean investigation.

Mindful of the tension on the Korean peninsula, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and spokesmen for the White House and the U.S. State Department chose their words carefully in their responses to the report.

“Clearly this was a serious provocation by North Korea and there will definitely be consequences because of what North Korea has done,” said State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley.