State Department: Pace of Iran sanctions relief to be negotiated

The State Department on Wednesday would not say whether sanctions on Iran would be lifted immediately after a final nuclear deal is reached, calling that a “technical detail” that has yet to be resolved.

“I think we’re in now an area of technical detail that is still to be further negotiated,” said State Department acting deputy spokesman Jeff Rathke.

{mosads}Facing repeated questions from reporters, Rathke would only say that sanctions relief “will come after Iran meets the key nuclear requirements.”  

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has insisted that sanctions on his country should be lifted immediately after a nuclear accord is signed. The White House has downplayed that demand as an attempt by Khamenei to appease hardliners in his country.

Rathke said it was too early to tell what effect a bill passed by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday would have on the lifting of sanctions.  

The bill would prevent the administration from waiving congressional sanctions for an initial 30 days to allow members of Congress to weigh in on the final deal. 

“Of course we have to wait and see what bill is passed by Congress,” he said. 

“The bill is not final yet. It’s been passed in the committee. It has to work its way through the Senate and the House,” he said. “We’ll defer to the White House, of course, on … their final determination on supporting the bill.” 

Rathke pushed back against suggestions that the State Department was caught off-guard by the White House dropping its opposition to the bill on Wednesday.

Earlier in the day, the White House had sent officials, including Secretary of State John Kerry and White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough, to brief members on the framework agreement reached with Iran on April 2. 

“I wouldn’t categorize it as a surprise. We’ve been coordinating closely with the White House,” Rathke said.  

Rathke also pushed disputed the notion the administration backed the bill when it realized it would get broad, bipartisan backing in Congress. The bill passed the Senate Foreign Relations Commitee 19-0.

“I think it’s important to point out that there were changes made to the legislation,” he said.