Working together against Iran
December 31, 2013
by Dmitriy Shapiro

In a rare show of bipartisanship, a group of key senators presented legislation to toughen sanctions against Iran during the Senate’s final sessions before the holiday break. The bill aims to alleviate mistrust of Iran’s seriousness in negotiations aimed at dismantling their military nuclear program, by raising sanctions to ensure that the cost would be too high for Iran if negotiations fail. Yet, the bill’s supporters — including many senior Democrats — have drawn fire from the Obama administration claiming that new sanctions could derail current gains.

The Nuclear Weapons Free Iran Act of 2013 (S. 1881), was drafted and presented on the Senate floor on Dec. 19 and received its second reading on Dec. 20 by Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) and Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.). The bill requires the Obama administration to maintain or re-apply any current economic sanctions, while providing additional sanctions if Iran fails to meet, or cheats, on the obligations in the Joint Plan of Action (JPA) its negotiators agreed to at the P5+1 conference in Geneva late November.

Also included are specific requirements negotiators must include for any final agreement to be acceptable to Congress, such as a complete end to Iranian nuclear enrichment and an end to ballistic tests over 500 miles.

The Obama administration moved aggressively to oppose it.

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