Obama: Iran bill won’t derail talks
President Obama said Friday he would sign a bill allowing Congress to review any Iran nuclear deal because it would not “derail” negotiations.
The president called the deal brokered by Sens. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) and Ben Cardin (D-Md.) a “reasonable compromise” that would not impede negotiators from reaching a final deal by the end of June.
{mosads}Obama threatened to veto a previous version of the legislation but said Corker and Cardin have offered assurances that “poison pills” would not be added to the measure that would allow lawmakers to kill a deal.
“Assuming what lands on my desk is what Sens. Corker and Cardin agreed to, I will sign it,” Obama said during a press conference with Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi.
The bill would allow members of Congress to review any deal on curbing Iran’s ability to create nuclear weapons before congressional sanctions could be lifted. But it shortens the amount of time Congress has to review a pact and allows Obama to submit the deal after the June 30 deadline for final negotiators.
Talks between six world powers, including the U.S., and Iran are set to resume in Vienna next week.
There are still major differences between the two sides that could hinder a final deal, including the pace of sanctions relief.
Iranian leaders have demanded the sanctions related to its nuclear program be lifted upon ratification of the deal. But the U.S. and its negotiating partners have called for gradual sanctions relief based on whether Iran is abiding by the terms of the agreement.
Obama, however, said his “main concern” is whether sanctions on Iran could be put back into place if the country violates limits placed on its nuclear program, not the speed of the sanctions relief
“How sanctions are lessened, how we snap back sanctions if there is a violation, there are a lot of different mechanisms and ways to do that,” Obama said. “Our main concern here making sure that if Iran doesn’t abide by the agreement, we don’t have to jump through a whole bunch of hoops in order to reinstate sanctions.”
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