The Obama administration on Wednesday urged the US Congress to delay any vote on sanctions against Iran - even if an agreement on the nuclear issue is reached by March - in order to give Iran enough time to make good on its commitments.
"We believe that the best way to proceed is based on not only the commitments they (the Iranians) make, but also the steps they take to implement those commitments -- that initially we suspend, not end, certain sanctions," Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in testimony before a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing entitled "Iran Nuclear Negotiations." Over time, as the Iranians demonstrate that they are making good on their commitments in the deal, at that point we get to actually ending them (the sanctions against Iran,) and Congress would have to do that and play a role there," Blinken said.
"If we are saying we are going to be suspending certain sanctions early on, and yet that is still subject to an initial vote by the Congress in some fashion, they (the Iranians) will doubt our ability to actually deliver on our commitment," he said. "That is a concern that could make the negotiations more complicated." Meanwhile, Senator Bob Corker, the new Republican chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, sparred with Blinken about the role of Congress, and the timing of congressional involvement on the issue.
"I am very disappointed that in essence what the administration is saying is... we really do not want Congress to play a role in one of the most important geopolitical agreements that may take place during this administration," Corker said.
Senators have sought to figure out a way for Congress to be able to weigh in on the issue before the administration over a longer period of time dismantles the sanctions regime against Iran, Corker noted.
Administration officials are most worried about the perceptions of their international partners, who are critical to enforcing the sanctions, Blinken said. "And what we have heard from them, including from (British) Prime Minister (David) Cameron as recently as last week... is that further sanctions now, or the threat of sanctions, or even trigger legislation, risks unraveling the international coalition that we have built to impose the sanctions.
"At the end of the day, it will be much easier, if we wind up suspending sanctions in the event of an agreement of some kind, to re-impose them quickly if we have kept the international coalition together." The Obama administration hopes to reach an agreement with Iran in March on all the core elements, including what commitments the Iranians would make, Blinken said.
Any agreement with Iran would involve not only an additional protocol, but other steps "that would give us and give our partners confidence and include the Iranian nuclear production and supply chain -- the minds, the mills, the centrifuge production facilities and then the uranium and plutonium facilities... that we had access," he noted, pointing out "also, this would require access to (Iranian) military facilities".