Failure of U.S. Senate Republicans to Pass Additional Sanctions Against Iran

On Thursday, November 13, Republican members of the U.S. Senate faced defeat in their attempt to pass a bill imposing additional sanctions against Iran in the event of a failure in nuclear negotiations. According to Reuters, Senators Lindsey Graham and Bob Corker called for a vote on the bill, but Democratic Senator Chris Murphy opposed it, stating that this could create the impression that Congress does not support the U.S. President in continuing negotiations with Iran. Republican senators claim their goal is to demonstrate that Congress has a role in the nuclear talks with Iran. The proposed bill, 'Iran Nuclear Negotiations of 2014', introduced by Republican senators, suggested imposing further sanctions against Iran if no agreement was reached in the negotiations. The bill also gave Congress 15 days to review any potential agreement between Iran and the P5+1 group, and if rejected, Congress could approve sanctions against Tehran. According to Reuters, many members of Congress, mostly Republicans and some Democrats, are concerned that the Obama administration may show flexibility to reach an agreement in the nuclear talks and ultimately use it as a foreign policy achievement. Iran and the P5+1 are set to resume a new round of nuclear negotiations next Wednesday in Vienna, Austria. According to the agreement, both sides must reach a final agreement by November 24. In last year's Geneva agreement, Tehran agreed to limit its nuclear activities, and the P5+1 members agreed to reduce sanctions against Iran. In another report on Wednesday, Reuters cited Iranian and Western official sources stating that 'it is unlikely that Iran and the P5+1 will reach a final agreement on the Islamic Republic's nuclear file by November 24.' These sources told Reuters that Iran and the world powers are likely to reach a new 'temporary agreement' based on which both the pressure of sanctions against Tehran will be eased, and discussions for a comprehensive agreement will continue. The news agency also cited an unnamed Iranian official stating that 'what is likely to happen is that we will reach a more limited agreement than the Geneva agreement, which will both reduce the pressure of economic sanctions on Iran and lead to the continuation of talks.'