A group of senators has introduced a draft resolution to the US Congress, which will not allow new sanctions to be imposed against Iran before the end of the negotiations on the Iranian nuclear program.
In a statement, one of the initiators of the proposal, chairwoman of the Select Committee on Intelligence Dianne Feinstein, noted that "enacting new sanctions before the end of the negotiating period would gravely undermine our efforts to reach an agreement with Iran."
According to her, "this resolution provides an option in support of diplomacy". The politician said that, if the efforts of the "group of six" international mediators do not succeed, Congress will approve the introduction of new countermeasures against Iran, which the resolution allows.
At the moment, the US Congress is considering a document that involves the introduction of new sanctions. The bill was drafted by Republican Senator Mark Kirk and his associate Democrat Robert Menendez last year, but did not receive the necessary support, as the majority of seats in the Senate has belonged to the Democrats. In addition to the Kirk-Menendez bill, the Senate is also preparing a document providing for mandatory ratification of any agreement that is concluded on Iran's nuclear program.
President Barack Obama promised in his annual message to Congress that he would veto any new sanctions passed by Congress against Iran. According to him, the new restrictions may lead to the failure of American diplomacy. "It doesn’t make sense. That is why I will veto any new sanctions bill that threatens to undo this progress. The American people expect us to only go to war as a last resort, and I intend to stay true to that wisdom," Tass cited the head of the White House as saying.
