UPDATE 1-U.S. links Iran's state oil company to Revolutionary Guards

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Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will present a report to Congress that contains evidence that the National Iranian Oil Co, or NIOC, is an "agent or affiliate" of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC, Bloomberg reported, citing an unidentified U.S. official.

The Treasury Department will submit the report to Congress on Monday, a source there confirmed, b ut would not say what the report contains.

Treasury o fficials did not find the major carrier of Iranian crude, the National Iranian Tanker Co, or NITC, to have close enough ties to the IRGC for it to be sanctioned, Bloomberg reported.

Congress directed the d epartment to determine whether Iran's oil and tanker companies were linked to IRGC as part of a new package of sanctions, signed into law in August.

The United States and the EU are restricting purchases of Iranian oil because they suspect Iran is trying to develop nuclear weapons. Iran says its nuclear program is strictly for civilian purposes.

While U.S. companies already are prohibited from buying Iranian oil, the new determination means the United States can impose further sanctions on any foreign bank that facilitates transactions with NIOC, acc ording to the sanctions law.

But the new penalties will not apply to countries that have been granted "exceptions," or waivers to the sanctions because they have significantly cut their purchases of Iranian oil.

The United States this year issued 180 day waivers for all of Iran's major crude buyers. China and India's waivers are due to be reviewed in coming months.

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