WASHINGTON (AFP) ― Supporters of Iran sanctions in the U.S. Senate have unveiled a toned-down bill aimed at gaining enough votes to override a presidential veto.

President Barack Obama has argued forcefully against any new measures against the Islamic Republic, saying Iran was already chafing under existing sanctions and imposing new ones could torpedo ongoing talks on an agreement to prevent Tehran from developing a nuclear bomb, a goal it denies having.

On Thursday, the Senate banking committee will discuss and vote on the re-jigged bill proposed by Republican Mark Kirk and Democrat Robert Menedez, two senators who have sponsored previous sanctions bills.

Their long-awaited bill was made public Friday but has not been formally introduced in the Senate.

It would gradually impose sanctions against Iran if, by July 1, no final deal is reached in the talks under way between Tehran and the so-called P5+1 group ― the United States, Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia.

July 1 is the current deadline for the international negotiations at a stalemate after two previous deadlines passed without a final agreement.

The calendar proposed by Kirk and Menendez would kick in a few days later, and escalate over several months.

If there were no deal by July 6, sanctions that had been frozen as part of an interim agreement would be reinstated. They would be followed on August 3 by new sanctions on the petroleum industry, and on Sept. 7 by new restrictions on countries that currently import Iranian oil.

On Oct. 5, more Iranian officials would be targeted by travel and financial sanctions, and on Nov. 2, new sanctions would kick in against foreign financial institutions engaged in transactions with Iran’s Central Bank or other sanctioned banks.

Finally, on Dec. 7, if there were still no deal, Iran’s automobile, construction, engineering, and mining sectors would be targeted.


koreaherald@heraldcorp.com