Senators Vow to Defy Obama on Iran Sanctions

Statement Demands Iran Suspend Entire Nuclear Program

Major diplomatic progress with Iran has led the State Department to warn against trying to impose further sanctions against the nation, and the White House is considering unfreezing some Iranian assets as a confidence builder.

That’s uncomfortable territory for some in the US Senate, particularly a collection of hawks who issued a statement today promising to push through a new bill imposing yet more sanctions.

The senators are arguing that Iran’s interest in diplomacy vindicates past sanctions, and proves that the harsh economic warfare was effective in getting concessions. This “effectiveness” seems undercut dramatically by the senators’ blanket opposition to any such deals, and determination to keep the sanctions in place no matter what.

For even as the statement demanded Iran to suspend its nuclear program unilaterally, it didn’t even support easing the sanctions in that event, saying only that this would be enough to consider not imposing any new sanctions.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.