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After broad economic sanctions against Iran were passed by both houses of Congress last month, new legislation introduced seeks to implement targeted sanctions against Iranian individuals accused of human rights abuses.

Senators Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.), joined by a bipartisan coalition of senators, have announced their plans to introduce legislation that would allow the president to impose targeted sanctions on Iranian individuals who have committed human rights abuses. This legislation is the first put forward that would specifically target Iranian individuals for such infractions.

A matching House bill was also introduced by Rep. Michael McMahon (D-N.Y.).

These bills would require President Obama to make public on the State and Treasury Department Web sites a list of Iranian abusers of human rights and subject them to visa bans and financial restrictions including freezing assets and properties held within the U.S.

"Just as the Iranian government is violating its responsibilities under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, it is likewise in flagrant breach of multiple international agreements it has signed that require it to respect the human rights of its own citizens," Lieberman said in a statement.

"The rulers of Iran have no desire to meet their international responsibilities and every desire to use all the tools of violence and repression at their disposal to crush the peaceful aspirations of Iran's citizens," McCain added in his own statement. "The United States must lead an international effort to support the human rights of the Iranian people, and to put that effort at the center of our policy toward Iran. Under this bill, Iranian human rights abusers would be completely cut off from the global reach of the U.S. financial system, and that would send a powerful signal to every country, company, and bank in the world that they should think twice about doing business with the oppressors of the Iranian people."

The legislation's co-sponsors include Senators Richard Durbin (D-Ill.), Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), Evan Bayh (D-Ind.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Robert Casey (D-Penn.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Kristen Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Sam Brownback (R-Kan.), Ted Kaufman (D-Del.), and David Vitter (R-La.).

The bills align more closely to the Obama administration's preference for targeted sanctions, as opposed to those previously passed by both houses targeting Iran's energy sector.

Ben Cohen of the American Jewish Committee said that this legislation is "encouraging," but must be done "in tandem" with broader economic sanctions targeting the country's energy sector in order to potentially change the government's stance towards acquiring nuclear weapons.

"I think the interesting aspect to all this is that we've reached the junction where the same clique of leaders who are threatening their own people are the same people who are threatening other nations," he said.

Shoshana Bryen, the senior director for security policy at the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs (JINSA), said that while it's not clear that the same people who are committing human rights abuses are responsible for the country's nuclear program, such sanctions are not without merit.

"What you're saying to the Iranian people is that -- we're communicating to them that we recognize who are the bad guys. It's a form of support," she said, adding that such measures could potentially prove conducive for a change in government, "which, perhaps, has a different attitude towards nuclear weapons, at least you'd hope so."

Bryen said that while "economic sanctions have never worked," these targeted sanctions have the potential to shine the spotlight on Iranian leaders who have remained largely anonymous.

Pointing out that Iranian leaders are already denied visas to the United States and do not conduct business here, Bryen said that such public exposure might lead to increased pressure by other countries.

"If you have any intention of changing Iranian behavior, you need to bring others on board," she said.

Jonathan Schanzer, vice president of research at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said that while it is difficult to predict how these U.S. sanctions will affect other countries' actions, particularly Russia and China, such an approach is more "palatable" to them as opposed to sanctions on oil imports because these targeted sanctions will not adversely affect them financially.

"All of these countries are going to have to weigh financial interests with their conscience." Schanzer said.

These sanctions, Schanzer explained, will not significantly affect those individuals targeted since they do not have assets in the United States, but will demonstrate to the Iranian people and the international community who specifically are responsible for Iran's isolation.

"These sanctions will name and shame the violators, make them enemies on the world stage, and help the Iranian population by demonstrating our support for the (opposition) Green Movement," he said.

Cohen said that the advantage of these sanctions, in concert with broader economic ones, is that they demonstrate to the Iranian people that the international community is not against them, but rather against their government.

"Targets that are focused on individuals send the clear message that we are not punishing [the Iranian people], we are punishing their leaders," he said.

Cohen said that he is also encouraged by other countries, particularly France and Germany, who have signaled a greater willingness in recent months to take action against the Iranian government.

"It's not just the United States pushing these measures and Israel cheering them on," Cohen said.