Wary of Iran’s nuclear intentions, senators are predicting a bipartisan push for fresh penalties and increased leverage against Tehran despite administration opposition, and waiting to hear directly from Secretary of State John Kerry about the latest round of talks that failed to produce a deal.
Kerry tried to reassure skeptical members of Congress after negotiations in Geneva between Iran and Western powers stalled, with France turning down a list of demands on Iran, saying they were too generous to mean an easing of international sanctions.
“Some of the most serious and capable expert people in our government who have spent a lifetime dealing both with Iran, as well as with nuclear weapons and nuclear armament and proliferation, are engaged in our negotiation. We are not blind, and I don’t think we’re stupid,” Kerry told NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
He added: “We’re not going into a full deal and giving away something. We’re talking about stopping their program where it is, with enough guarantees to know that it is, in fact, stopped where it is, while we then negotiate the full measure of the deal with our allies.”
Administration officials led by Vice President Joe Biden and including Kerry had persuaded a number of senators late last month to delay consideration of a new round of penalties before the international talks had begun.
Associated Press
