The Obama administration made the correct decision earlier this week to impose sanctions on Belarusneft, a subsidiary of the Belarusian petrochemical company Belneftekhim, for doing business with Iran. But it’s small beer – Belarusneft is hardly a major player in Iran’s energy industry. And this latest announcement of sanctions suggests to some in Congress that the administration is not really that serious about enforcing sanctions on Iran after all.

Last year, Congress passed the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability and Divestment Act by overwhelming majorities in both houses, and President Obama signed the bill into law in July 2010. The sanctions bill was supposed to be a strengthening of the bill already on the books – the Iran Sanctions Act (ISA) of 1996. And Congress crafted last year’s bill to send a clear message to the White House, the Iranian leadership, and energy firms around the world: The U.S. government was finally getting serious about Iran.