New sanctions on Iran threaten nuclear talks: US official

News code : ۲۶۹۱۱۹

ILNA: A senior Obama administration official has warned that new sanctions against Iran during nuclear negotiations would threaten the diplomatic process.

“We have long believed that Congress should not consider any new sanctions while negotiations are underway, in order to give our negotiators the time and space they need to fully test the current diplomatic opportunity, ” the official familiar with the negotiation process told The Huffington Post.

“New sanctions threaten the diplomatic process currently underway, ” the unnamed official added.

The Obama administration has insisted that more sanctions could derail the possibility of a nuclear agreement.

However, with control of Republicans over both houses of Congress this week, they will put pressure on other lawmakers to vote on Iran sanctions legislation.

Republican sources on Capitol Hill said new Iran measures will be a top priority for the new Congress.

Senators Mark Kirk and Robert Menendez introduced a bill that threatens new sanctions against Tehran if Iran violates any nuclear agreement.

Another proposal from Senator Lindsey Graham and incoming Foreign Relations chairman Bob Corker would require lawmakers’ approval before the Obama administration can move forward with any deal.

In November, Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council - - China, Russia, Britain, France, and the United States - - plus Germany agreed to extend the nuclear talks.

They also agreed that the interim deal they had signed in Geneva in November ۲۰۱۳ remain in place during the remainder of the negotiations until July ۱,۲۰۱۵.

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