In the center of today's press is the initiative by U.S. senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) to introduce a bill on new sanctions against Iran.
"Iran Sanctions Bill From Sens. Bob Menendez And Mark Kirk Could Endanger U.S. Negotiations" is an article published today by the Huffington Post.
"Sens. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) are threatening to push the United States toward war with Iran, circulating and planning to introduce a sanctions bill despite warnings that it could derail nuclear negotiations at a delicate moment. International observers and both parties to the negotiations have repeatedly pleaded with Congress to allow the talks to unfold -- warnings that Kirk and Menendez, the chair of the Foreign Relations Committee, appear intent on ignoring. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) is also part of the effort, though much of the final decision rests with Menendez," the article reads.
"Defenders of the Menendez move say it is intended to strengthen the White House hand and that if Senate Democrats don't introduce a bill, Republican hard-liners will push a much more extreme bill with an even greater likelihood of blowing up the talks."
"'This bill does not provide the president with the flexibility necessary to negotiate an agreement. The fact is, passing new sanctions now would split the international community, embolden Iranian hard-liners, and likely derail any prospect of a diplomatic resolution'," the article quotes a senior administration official.
Answering their colleagues in the Congress, U.S. senators Carl Levin and Barbara Boxer published an article in the Politico Magazine a day earlier.
"Media reports have suggested that Congress intends to pass legislation soon that would impose additional sanctions on Iran. That would run the risk of derailing efforts toward a peaceful resolution, and risk the unity we have achieved with the world community that has been so crucial to our progress to date. Fortunately, many in Congress, us included, believe that we must test this window of opportunity, to see whether Iran’s new President Hassan Rouhani can deliver on the promise of a comprehensive solution that closes Iran’s path to a nuclear weapon," the congressmen write.
"...allowing time for the United States and its allies to explore the possibility of a peaceful resolution is in our nation’s interest and in the interest of our friends and allies. It is clearly what the American people want and expect. And it is fully in keeping with our character as a nation dedicated to peace and a people who, as President Ronald Reagan once said, “resort to force reluctantly and only when they must'," the congressmen state their position.
