US Senate tending to fresh Iran sanctions

Support for fresh sanctions against Iran is growing in the US Senate, prompting pushback from White House Friday as it works with international partners to negotiate a long-term deal on Tehran's nuclear programme, dpa reported.

White House spokesman Jay Carney said the White House and Congress "share the same goal, which is to deprive Iran of a nuclear weapon. That is the president's policy, and we have worked together towards that policy and we want to continue to do that."

The White House opposes a bill supported by 59 of 100 senators calling for new sanctions. The legislation is just one vote shy of the 60 needed to clear a parliamentary hurdle in the upper chamber of Congress.

Carney praised "good progress" being made in Geneva on how to implement an agreement on Tehran's nuclear programme, noting, "we hope to finalize the implementation agreement soon, which is the first-stage agreement."


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