Senate's Confrontation with the U.S. Government; Approval of Non-Nuclear Sanctions?

Shortly after the formation of the new U.S. Congress on January 3, it is expected that Republican senators will pass new proposals to impose further sanctions against Iran and send them to the House of Representatives for legalization and implementation. Such actions could seriously jeopardize the nuclear negotiations and divert them from their current path. In the first reaction to the Senate's relations with the government regarding the Islamic Republic's nuclear activities and ongoing negotiations with Tehran, Republican Senator Robert Corker from Tennessee, who will assume the chairmanship of the influential Foreign Relations Committee in the Senate on January 3, issued a statement. In this statement, he expressed concern over what he termed the 'consequences of extending negotiations without reaching a definitive agreement and consequently weakening pressure points against Iran,' stating, 'A bad deal with Tehran will lead to greater instability in the world.' In Senator Corker's official statement, which indicates the Republican Party's and his personal intention to exert more influence in the nuclear negotiation process and in reaching a future nuclear agreement with the Islamic Republic, it is stated: 'Considering various aspects of these negotiations in relation to our (U.S.) national security and also regional security (Middle East and West Asia), Congress must have sufficient opportunity to evaluate the content of any agreement before it is finalized and implemented, and it is necessary to prepare for alternative paths (other than diplomacy and negotiation), including readiness to impose tougher sanctions in case of negotiation failure.' In another political onslaught, just four days before the expiration of the November 24 deadline, which ultimately led to a seven-month extension of the Geneva agreement, 43 Republican senators expressed their concerns in a letter to Obama regarding what they termed 'recent changes in the U.S. government's policy towards Iran.' (Media close to the Islamic Republic's military, including the Tasnim news agency, only published the part related to limiting Iran's missile activities in the mentioned letter, aiming to express opposition to the nuclear negotiations.) The 43 senators wrote in their letter: 'As long as the White House does not seriously engage Congress in the ongoing negotiations (with Iran), we do not see any possibility of accepting any agreement with the Islamic Republic or the proposals presented to Tehran by the (future) Congress or implementing the provisions of any potential agreement after your presidency ends.' In a significant move that indicates the Republican Party's determination to exert more pressure against Obama's foreign policy and influence the nuclear negotiations in the coming months, shortly after the announcement of the seven-month extension of the nuclear agreement with Iran, three senior and influential senators in foreign relations, John McCain, Lindsey Graham, and Kelly Ayotte, issued a joint statement reminding that 'the new extension must not only be accompanied by new sanctions but also any final agreement with Iran must be submitted to Congress for approval.' The U.S. government has so far tried to avoid sending the text of a potential agreement with Iran to the Senate. With the Republicans gaining a majority in the Senate and full control over Congress, the government's reluctance to keep lawmakers away from the bargaining and agreement process with Tehran has increased. At the same time, the Republican majority in the Senate has placed more restrictions on American negotiators in granting generous concessions to Tehran and breaking the deadlock in negotiations. A clear sign of the gradual retreat of the Obama administration in the face of congressional pressures is the recent statements of Bernadette Meehan, spokesperson for the National Security Council, who stated: 'Congress is seeking a more active role in advisory matters regarding Iran, and in this regard, Congress will play a role in U.S. policies towards Iran.' With powers similar to those of any other legislative body leader, the Senate President in the U.S. can either prevent a proposal from being brought to the floor for a vote or delay its entry with extensive changes. Current Senate President Harry Reid, a Democrat, has so far used his powers to prevent the introduction of further sanctions against Iran during the nuclear negotiations with Tehran. The proposal known as the 'Iran Non-Nuclear Weapons Act,' which was submitted to the Senate last year by Senator Menendez, was among the proposals that did not reach a vote. Starting January 3, Harry Reid, a Democrat, will hand over his position as Senate President to Mitch McConnell, a Republican senator from Kentucky. With the change in Senate leadership, the obstacle to the introduction of new Republican senators' proposals for imposing new sanctions against Iran will be removed, although the President's 'veto power' may prevent the implementation of laws passed by Congress. Among the 100 Senate representatives, the Republican Party will have a majority with 53 representatives starting January 3. This number may increase to 54 representatives this month. To bypass the President's veto, Republicans will need the support of three Democratic or independent representatives. Although playing partisan politics with foreign policy raises the issue of prioritizing party interests over national interests of the U.S. and carries its own risks, and if negotiations with Tehran continue (the duration of the seven-month extension), new sanctions proposals in retaliation for the Islamic Republic's nuclear actions could be seen as an attempt to undermine the country's foreign policy and the government's diplomacy. Senators will try to pressure for direct involvement in negotiations instead of directly entering the nuclear debate, making other critical behaviors of the Islamic Republic the subject of new sanctions proposals against the Islamic Republic. Entering the discussion of systematic and widespread violations of human rights in Iran is among the areas that several American senators active in foreign relations are already studying, and it is expected that shortly after the formation of the new Congress, a legal proposal for imposing new sanctions will be voted on in that country's Senate.