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December 12, 2013

Lawmakers to Introduce New Sanctions Against Iran 
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The Obama administration continues to ask lawmakers to hold off on new
sanctions against Iran during the six-month nuclear deal. Iran is
receiving a limited relief from U.S.-led sanctions in return for scaling
back its nuclear activities. But a bipartisan group of lawmakers is
pushing legislation that would press ahead with sanctions approved by
the House over the summer. Secretary of State John Kerry told a House
panel he has doubts about Iran's intentions, but said the agreement
should be respected.

Secretary of State John Kerry: "I came away from our preliminary
negotiations with the serious questions about whether or not they are
ready and willing to make some of the choices that have to be made, but
is what we have put to test over the next months. We are asking you to
give our negotiators and our experts the time and the space to do their
jobs and that includes asking you while we negotiate that you hold off
imposing new sanctions."

Despite the administration's request, Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez
and Republican Sen. Mark Kirk say they expect to introduce a new
sanctions measure as early as this week. Iran has warned any new
sanctions would nullify the nuclear deal.

 

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