Iran-Sanctions Bill May Morph Into Non-Binding Resolution Jan. 28, 2014
http://www.nti.org/gsn/article/iran-sanctions-may-morph-nonbinding-resolution/?mgs1=c654exuUcy Technicians work at Iran's Isfahan uranium conversion facility in 2007. Insiders said U.S. lawmakers are considering a less ambitious alternative to an Iran-sanctions bill that has not moved to a floor vote in Congress. (Behrouz Mehri/AFP/Getty Images) U.S. legislators are considering a less ambitious alternative to an Iran-sanctions bill that has failed to come to a vote, Reuters reports. Democrats in the Senate decided against pressing Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to allow floor consideration of the earlier sanctions proposal, legislative staffers told the wire service on Monday. That bill, called the Nuclear Weapon-Free Iran Act, now has 59 backers in the upper chamber. Lawmakers in both chambers of Congress are in talks on a potential new text for a non-binding resolution that would implore diplomats to assume specific stances in nuclear negotiations with Iran, the Capitol Hill insiders said. Some U.S. lawmakers are pressing for Tehran's assent to giving up a wide range of assets relevant to a potential nuclear-arms program, including an unfinished heavy-water reactor and all uranium enrichment. The congressional staffers added, though, that the Obama administration is likely to chafe even at a non-mandatory statement from Congress. The White House threatened to block the earlier sanctions proposal on grounds that it could endanger diplomacy intended to secure enduring restrictions on Iran's disputed atomic program. Iranian envoys are tentatively slated to hold new atomic discussions in New York next month with counterparts from the five permanent U.N. Security Council member nations and Germany, U.S. State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said this week in comments reported by *al-Monitor*. The talks are aimed at securing a broader, longer-term successor to a November deal in which Iran agreed to restrict certain atomic activities for half a year. On Tuesday, the Obama administration issued a rundown of short-term sanctions curbs it would provide to Iran under the interim nuclear accord, which took effect last week. Tehran maintains that its atomic efforts are strictly peaceful, but Washington and its allies fear the activities could lead to development of an Iranian nuclear-weapon capability. -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
