(This item was originally published Wednesday.)

LONDON -(Dow Jones)- Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSB.LN) said Wednesday it is no longer selling gasoline to Iran, the latest oil company to make such a move during threats of tougher sanctions against the Islamic Republic.

"Shell is not currently selling gasoline to Iran," a company spokesman said.

He declined to comment on whether it was related to sanctions against Iran.

Shell's move comes as a number of Western oil companies have decided to stop trading with Iran as international pressure bites deeper into its oil and gas industry.

Traders Vitol Holding BV and Glencore International AG, historically key fuel-oil suppliers to Iran, recently decided to halt sales of gasoline to the country.

The Islamic republic's refining expansion has been hindered by decades of sanctions, and it depends on imports for about 40% of its refined products consumption.

It now faces possible U.S. sanctions over its gasoline imports as it remains in a deadlock with the West over its nuclear program.

The U.S. Senate in late January passed a new bill requiring the president to pass sanctions against companies exporting petroleum products to Iran by restricting their foreign exchange transactions, access to U.S. banks, and handling of property in the U.S.

This was its latest attempt to force Iran to suspend its nuclear enrichment program, which is feared by some to be part of a nuclear weapons plan.

Despite new sanctions looming, Western oil companies are being replaced by Asian oil traders. Malaysia's state-owned oil and gas corporation Petroliam Nasional Bhd., or Petronas, recently said its trading unit was selling gasoline to Iran.

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