The Obama administration has consulted outside experts as it weighs possible sanctions on Iran that could target its gasoline imports and insurers that underwrite the trade, among other options.

The U.S. Senate has passed legislation that would prohibit companies that sell refined oil products to Iran from receiving U.S. contracts to deliver crude to the strategic oil reserve.

And the chairman of the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, Howard Berman, says he will push ahead in October with a bill that would set sanctions on foreign companies that export refined petroleum products to Iran.

These moves are separate from efforts to dissuade foreign companies from investing in new technology for Iran's oil and gas industry, the backbone of its oil-exporting economy, which has been hit by high inflation and unemployment.

U.S. sanctions currently ban any company investing more than $20 million in Iran's oil and gas sector, although they have never been enforced.

The idea gaining the most traction in the halls of the U.S. Congress is targeting gasoline supplies. But Iran experts, oil traders and shippers warn that enforcing a complete cut-off would be next to impossible.

"Without the use of military force we can't stop the flow of gasoline," said Patrick Clawson, an Iran sanctions expert. But such sanctions could still lead to economic hardship and cause social unrest, posing a challenge for the Iranian government, he said.

Even if the Berman bill passes, it is not clear it would be enforced. The Obama administration has said it is committed to working with global partners, so it would be reluctant to take unilateral steps.

Russia and China, which both have close ties with Iran, have been cool to energy-sector sanctions. French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner voiced wariness of actions that would hurt ordinary Iranians. That could include gasoline sanctions.

While the main oil giants would likely halt supplies to Iran if the United States set new sanctions, China, Malaysia and Russia have stepped into a gap left by India's Reliance and British company BP, which have stopped supplying fuel to Iran.

According to industry sources, oil companies that have supplied fuel to Iran in the last few months include: Royal Dutch Shell; Totsa, a unit of Total SA; Vitol, an independent company; Glencore International; Litasco, the trading arm of Russia's LUKOIL; and state-run Chinese company Zhuhai Zhenrong Corp

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