Obama to veto Iran sanctions bill: White House

Eurasia News

WASHINGTON: The US President Barack Obama will veto a bill introduced in the Senate seeking new sanctions on Iran because it will undermine the efforts to peacefully resolve the dispute over Iran’s nuclear program, the White House said.

As many as 26 US senators introduced a bill in the House earlier on Thursday to impose further sanctions against the Islamic Republic if the country fails to comply with an interim nuclear agreement reached with the world powers last month in Geneva.

In a statement, the White House press secretary Jay Carney said that “Passing new sanctions legislation now will undermine our efforts to achieve a peaceful resolution.”

“We don’t believe this proposal is necessary, as I think we’ve made clear and we have been discussing with members of Congress for quite some time. We don’t believe it will be enacted. We certainly know it’s not necessary. If it were to pass, the president would veto it,” Carney said.