Congress Threatens to Derail Iran Deal With New Sanctions

Hawkish Leadership Vow to Push Sanctions Through

The P5+1 deal with Iran may be finalized, but keeping it intact is still a battle, as the sanctions relief in the deal is under immediate threat from the US Congress, where hawks are threatening to impose more sanctions on Iran.

For some, like Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R – GA), the argument is that Iran is in a weak position right now and the sanctions could really stick it to them and dictate even harsher terms. Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif is warning that new sanctions would kill the deal, however, and for many Congressmen, that’s the whole point.

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D – NY) and others have made it no secret they oppose the deal, and are pushing new sanctions as a way to “protest” against the deal, and ideally sabotage it outright.

President Obama has opposed new sanctions, and is set to veto any such sanctions bills, meaning Congress would have to try to override a veto if it really wants to kill the deal. That would be extremely difficult, but with the Israeli lobbies behind them on the issue, a battle is looming.

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.