Sen. Bob Corker Moves to Stop Obama from Lifting Iran Sanctions
Exclusive: Sen. Bob Corker Moves to Stop Obama from Lifting Iran Sanctions
Emerging legislation from Republican Sen. Bob Corker could block Obama from easing sanctions on Iran and create tougher conditions for reaching an interim deal with Tehran.
On the eve of new nuclear negotiations with Iran, the top Republican senator on the Foreign Relations Committee is considering legislation that would prevent President Obama from loosening sanctions on the Tehran regime.
Corker said that his new legislative language would freeze the administration’s ability to waive sanctions currently in place until or unless Iran agrees to large concessions on its nuclear and missile programs. The concessions Corker is demanding go way beyond the incremental deal being contemplated this week in Geneva, where Iran will meet with officials from the U.S. and the other countries in the P5+1 group, which includes Britain, France, Russia, China, and Germany.
The new legislation, if passed, could throw a wrench into the administration’s plans to use incremental confidence building measures, including some sanctions relief for Iran, as a means of continuing the nuclear negotiations into next year.
Under Corker’s plan the Obama administration would be barred from using the waivers that are currently on the books to create limited exemptions to the sanctions program unless Iran agrees to stop all enrichment and reprocessing and adhere to U.N. Security Council Resolutions now in place. For the Iranians to comply with those terms they would need to suspend all work on their heavy water reactor at Arak, suspend all work and testing on ballistic missiles, and come clean with the IAEA on all military dimensions of their nuclear program.
“This would keep an interim deal from happening unless there is actual tangible changes that take place," Corker said.
He acknowledged that Congress can’t stop the administration from doing certain things to reduce pressure on Iran, such as having the Europeans relieve some sanctions following the Geneva negotiations..
Corker hasn’t decided if or how to bring up his new amendment. It could be proposed as an addition to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which is set to come up in the Senate later this month. The NDAA is considered a must-pass bill because it sets military and defense policy for the entire year, meaning that if Congress agrees to Corker’s amendment, it would be difficult for Obama to avoid signing the bill.
The Senate Banking Committee, which Corker also sits on, might mark up new Iran sanctions legislation on its own and Corker might add his amendment to that legislation, he said.
The Obama administration has resisted calls to change its policy, with the president making calls asking senators for a 60-day delay in new sanctions. Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of State John Kerry met with senators behind closed doors Oct. 31 on Capitol Hill and also urged them to delay action on new Iran sanctions.
"Congress has been and will continue to be our most important partner in our shared efforts to address the Iranian nuclear issue and we have used our sanctions authorities aggressively and to great effect," an administration official said, denying that the administration had opposed sanctions legislation at every stage.
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Editor's note: This article has been updated to include a response from an administration official.
posted by Satish Sharma at
14:38
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