Republican lawmakers in the US state of Wisconsin have introduced a bill that would prohibit business with Iran.
They say the measure would help blunt President Barack Obama's nuclear accord with the Islamic Republic.
The bill proposed by Rep. Dale Kooyenga and Sen. Leah Vukmir would require the state to sell within a yearany holdings in the companies that operate in Iran.
In a memo to their colleagues, Kooyenga and Vukmir wrote that the bill would help limit the effects of the accord which the US, the EU as well as China and Russia reached with Iran in July.
The agreement calls for relief from economic sanctions on Iran provided that the country scales back its nuclear energy program.
More than 1,000 corporations around the world do business with Iran, according to a database kept by the non-profit UANI group.
About two dozen US states have adopted legislation barring public entities from renewing or entering into contracts with companies operating in Iran or requiring them to divest themselves of holdings in such companies, according to UANI.
Last month, Obama signed an order directing his administration to take steps toward lifting sanctions on Iran in accordance with the July accord.
US officials said the order marked adoption day, which is a mere formality because no sanctions will be lifted immediately.
Full relief will come on "implementation day" when the US could confirm that Iran has met its commitments under the so-called Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Obama said.
No date is set for implementation day. Western officials have said they expect that to take four to six months.
Ali Akbar Velayati, atop adviser to Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, hassaid, "On implementation, all should be watchful that Westerners, particularly Americans, keep their promises."
Iranian officials have repudiated the sanctions as illegal, designed to pressure the country for political reasons because its nuclear program represents nothing but peaceful intentions.