Senators pledge to defy White House on Iran
Republican senators say they will defy President Barack Obama and push for a bill to toughen sanctions against Iran despite White House objections that any new legislation should wait until after the current round of talks run their course.
The coming confrontation could affect whether Iran’s nuclear program can be curtailed through talks that restarted last week in Geneva instead of military action.
Sen. Mark Kirk of Illinois, a ju- nior member of the Senate committee that is considering the bill, said the end of talks in Geneva with no change in Iranian behavior means the Senate should move forward on toughening sanctions despite White House objections.
Kirk released a statement with Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire responding to a report in Friday’s New York Times that the Obama administration is considering easing sanctions on Iran by releasing Iran’s frozen overseas cash.
“Now is a time to strengthen — not weaken — U.S. and international sanctions,” the senators said. “The U.S. should not suspend new sanctions, nor consider releasing limited frozen assets, before Tehran suspends its nuclear enrichment activities.”
The White House did not deny the Times report, but Bernadette Meehan, a spokeswoman for Obama’s National Security Council, said: “Discussion of specific types of sanctions relief is premature and speculative.”
Meehan said new sanctions should wait while talks show promise and Congress should match its actions to the White House negotiating strategy.
“Iran is going into these negotiations with a very clear goal — to get these sanctions lifted without giving up anything substantial,” said Sen. Marco Rubio, RFla..
The proposed legislation would target Iran’s revenues, foreign currency reserves and Iran’s currency, the rial, to “lock down the funds that Iran needs to forestall a severe economic and financial crisis, said Mark Dubowitz, executive director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, who is familiar with the Senate proposal.