Both houses of the U.S. Congress passed on Thursday a series of sanctions against Iran, aimed at forcing Tehran to abandon its nuclear ambitions, which is now awaiting the signature of President Barack Obama to take effect.

The Senate by 99 votes to none against, gave the green light Thursday to the first bill negotiated between the two chambers. The House of Representatives then adopted the text by 408 votes against eight.

This new set of constraints, particularly for the energy sector in Iran, should complement the text adopted at the UN two weeks ago and that set by the European Union.

But the choice of Europeans and Americans to go further than the UN has been criticized by Moscow, while Russian President Dmitry Medvedev was on a full visit to Washington on Thursday .

“Our goal is to target Iran where it hurts most,” said the Majority Leader Harry Reid, Democrat of the Senate, shortly before the vote.

Republican Senator John McCain said that the text should “force companies in the world to make a choice: do you work with Iran, or do you work with the United States?”. “The two are not compatible,” he insisted.

Although with the general approbation on this text, several elected officials have expressed concern over the ability of the president to waive sanctions. “This text is in fact a half measure, half a bill, as 50% depends on whom? From the desire of President Obama to implement the sanctions quickly,” said Republican Representative Scott Garrett.

The text strengthens a law already in force, adding a range of new economic sanctions to try to persuade Iran to abandon its nuclear program.