December 20, 2013 | Quote
Senate Bill to Impose New Sanctions on Iran Spurs Veto Threat From White House
A bipartisan group of senators, defying the White House, introduced a bill on Thursday to impose new sanctions on Iran if it failed to conclude a nuclear agreement, or stick to the terms of its interim deal, with the United States and other major powers.
The Obama administration swiftly condemned the legislation, warning that it could derail negotiations with Iran and that President Obama would veto it if it ever came to his desk. With the Senate about to recess for the Christmas holiday, that is unlikely for the time being.
But the bill, backed by 26 senators evenly divided between Republicans and Democrats, confronts the White House with the prospect of a sustained showdown with Congress during its delicate talks with Iran — talks that Iranian officials said would be scuttled by any new sanctions.
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“The cost of walking away would be pretty profound,” said Mark Dubowitz, the executive director for the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, who puts the price of the new sanctions to the Iranian economy at a minimum of $55 billion a year, much of it in lost oil exports.