Senior American Senator Insists on Increasing Sanctions Against Iran

Robert Menendez, a senior senator from the Democratic Party in the United States, says he continues to support the passage of new sanctions against Iran if a final nuclear agreement with Tehran is not reached by next July. According to Reuters, Mr. Menendez made these remarks on Friday, January 26, shortly after President Barack Obama warned Congress that he would veto any escalation of sanctions against Iran. However, Senator Menendez, who is a fellow party member of Mr. Obama and one of the architects of sanctions against Iran, emphasized that the 'prospect of sanctions that will not be approved until June' must be considered. Several other U.S. lawmakers have also reacted to the President's statements. Kevin McCarthy, the Republican majority leader in the House of Representatives, stated that he feels President Obama has 'insulted' him in his remarks and added that it seems the President wants to imply that lawmakers' concerns about Iran's nuclear issue are based on 'political considerations.' Mr. McCarthy has urged President Obama to work with Congress to increase pressure on Iran. Senator Menendez, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, also clarified that he has a 'fundamental disagreement' with the President on this issue. He argued that it does not seem that the Islamic Republic is willing to make 'significant concessions' 18 months after negotiations and added that the passage of new sanctions could lead to 'convincing' Tehran. In a bill that Robert Menendez is seeking to pass in collaboration with Republican Senator Mark Kirk, it is stated that if the parties cannot reach a comprehensive and final agreement on the Islamic Republic's nuclear program by the deadline of July 1, new sanctions will be imposed against Iran. However, this bill also has a clause that allows the Obama administration to delay its implementation for another 30 days if, at that time, reaching an agreement seems certain and imminent. Senator Kirk also stated, 'If anything can prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear bomb, it is the bipartisan unity in Congress to end uranium enrichment and plutonium production.' The U.S. Congress, which consists of the House of Representatives and the Senate, was previously controlled by a Democratic majority but is now dominated by Republicans. The new composition of Congress has increased the disagreements between it and President Obama's Democratic administration regarding how to deal with the Islamic Republic's nuclear program.