Senators delay new sanctions on Iran
Under pressure from the Obama administration, Senate Democrats who favor a new batch of sanctions on Iran signaled a willingness to hold off on levying penalties to give diplomatic negotiations a chance. Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., made clear that a vote on a package of penalties pushed by Sens. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., and Mark Kirk, R-Ill., wouldn’t occur anytime soon despite a call for a vote from Republican leader Mitch McConnell. “We’re going to wait and see how this plays out,” Reid said Tuesday. President Barack Obama has argued that a new round of penalties would derail sensitive talks with Tehran.
Associated Press
As diplomats worked on the next step of implementing a landmark nuclear deal with Iran, the country’s president described it Tuesday as a “surrender” of Western powers to Tehran’s demands.
But the U.S. dismissed the comment as playing to a home audience and urged Iran to abide by the deal.
The Nov. 24 agreement commits Tehran to curb its nuclear programs in exchange for initial sanctions relief over six months as the two sides work toward a permanent agreement. The accord designates the U.N.’s International Atomic Energy Agency to supervise Iranian compliance with terms of the deal.
The 35-nation IAEA board is expected to approve that role at a meeting set for Jan. 24, according to two diplomats. They demanded anonymity because they were not authorized to disclose the date ahead of an official IAEA announcement.
Iranian officials have been keen to portray the pact as advantageous to their country in easing sanctions in return for what they say are minimal nuclear concessions.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s remarks about the accord Tuesday appeared to be part of efforts to bring around hard-liners who have denounced the deal, claiming it tramples on Iran’s nuclear rights.
“Do you know what the Geneva agreement means? It means the surrender of the big powers before the great Iranian nation,” Rouhani told a crowd in the oil-rich province of Khuzestan.
“The Geneva agreement means the wall of sanctions has broken. The unfair sanctions were imposed on the revered and peace-loving Iranian nation,” he said. “It means an admission by the world of Iran’s peaceful nuclear program.”
Rouhani’s comments drew a dismissive U.S. response.
“It doesn’t matter what they say,” White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters in Washington, describing the statement as meant for a “domestic audience.”
“What matters to us … is what Iranian leaders do, what Iran does in keeping its commitments in this agreement,” said Carney.
The U.N. agency did not confirm the board meeting but said separate talks in Tehran between Iran and IAEA experts were postponed from Jan. 21 to Feb. 8.
One of the diplomats said the Iran-IAEA talks were postponed to allow Iran and the agency to prepare for the implementation of the Nov. 24 deal — a view the United States appeared to share.
“There’s a lot going on around the same time,” State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said. “So it’s not a concern.”
Enactment of the Nov. 24 agreement is scheduled to begin Jan. 20.
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