Local Editor
US President Barack Obama would veto an Iran sanctions bill with Democratic co-sponsors, White House press secretary Jay Carney said Thursday.
"We don't think this action is necessary, we don't think it will be enacted. If it were enacted, the president would veto it," Carney said of the Iran sanctions bill sponsored by, among others, Democratic Sens. Chuck Schumer and Robert Menendez.Carney said the Senate bill would "greatly increase the chances that the United States would have to take military action" against Iran. He said it would also be bad for attempts at negotiating with Iran and defy the will of the nation and the Congress.
"Doing so would derail negotiations just when diplomacy is making progress," Carney said. "It would potentially divide the international community and obviously would suggest bad faith on the part of the United States."
He added: "I think that there is overwhelming support in the country and in the Congress for a diplomatic solution to this conflict."
Earlier on Thursday, a group of Democrat and Republican senators introduced new legislation to impose further sanctions against Iran if the country breaches the terms of the nuclear deal reached last month in Geneva.
The Senate bill also calls for "diplomatic, military and economic support" to the Zionist entity in case Tel Aviv decides to launch an attack against Iran's nuclear energy program.
Last week, US Secretary of State John Kerry told senators that passing new sanctions legislation now would violate the interim deal.
Meanwhile, Obama has repeatedly defended the agreement.
"We cannot close the door on diplomacy, and we cannot rule out peaceful solutions to the world's problems," Obama said.
"We cannot commit ourselves to an endless cycle of conflict, and tough talk and bluster may be the easy thing to do politically, but it's not the right thing for our security," he added.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team