American Senator: Increasing Sanctions on Iran is a Priority for the Next Senate Session

A senior Republican senator in the U.S. stated that with the next Senate session beginning and the majority now held by Republicans, intensifying sanctions against Iran will be among the main priorities. Senator Mark Kirk made this announcement on Sunday, January 7, during an interview with Fox News, stating that the first vote in next month's Senate session will be on an important pipeline in the U.S., followed by a vote on sanctions against Iran. In the interview, Senator Kirk mentioned that Republicans in the Senate will likely have enough support from Democrats to pass the sanctions measure against Iran, saying, 'I have 17 Democrats with me on this.' He added, 'This is what we are trying to achieve, a good vote with bipartisan participation.' Reports indicate that John Boehner, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, has already expressed his support for further sanctions against Iran. In this context, the American website Politico reported on Monday, January 8, that a new bill, which is set to be voted on in the Senate in the early weeks of the new calendar year regarding further sanctions against Iran, is based on a bill drafted a year ago by Mark Kirk and Senator Robert Menendez. This bill aims to tighten economic sanctions against Iran if it refuses to continue nuclear negotiations or fails to comply with the nuclear agreement. The bill's sponsors argue that a comprehensive nuclear agreement with the Islamic Republic should not include the continuation of uranium enrichment capacity in Iran, as this capacity 'can be used to build a nuclear bomb.' The Republican-controlled House of Representatives passed a bill in 2013 targeting Iran's energy sector, but this bill never succeeded in passing the Senate. President Barack Obama has repeatedly urged Congress to refrain from imposing further sanctions on Iran and to give negotiations a better chance. Before the recent U.S. elections, the Senate had a Democratic majority, but after the elections, Republican members, many of whom favor adopting stricter measures against the Islamic Republic, gained the majority. Mr. Obama, prior to the Senate elections, in his annual speech at the United Nations General Assembly, urged the people and leaders of Iran not to 'miss this historic opportunity' and to use the ongoing nuclear negotiations to find a 'diplomatic solution' to resolve ambiguities in their nuclear program.