U.S. Lawmakers Adopt New Iran Sanctions Bill

Date: 26 May 2017 - 20:24

News ID: ۳۹۹۷۵

WASHINGTON (Dispatches) -- The U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved on Thursday the most sweeping sanctions against Iran since the United States and five other nations reached a nuclear agreement with Tehran in 2015.
Because Iran has complied with the nuclear accord, the Senate committee had to find other reasons to impose the sanctions, and linked Iran to terrorism and accused it of human rights violations.
But the timing of the long-planned punishment was awkward, coming right after President Hassan Rouhani won a re-election on a pledge to improve ties with the West.
The Trump administration has supported new sanctions against Iran, which were approved 18 to 3 by the committee and could receive a full Senate vote as early as next month, U.S. media reported.
During the presidential campaign Trump called the Iran nuclear deal a "disaster” and promised to scrap the accord. Should he do so, Iran would be free to resume the production of uranium and plutonium, which are sharply limited under the existing agreement for the next 13 years.
Senator Bob Corker noted that the committee had waited to take up the sanctions bill until after the Iranian election, at the request of some members.
Many of the Democrats on the committee voted for the sanctions.