A group of US senators introduced an anti-Iran bill.
The Huffington Post on Monday named the anti-Iran senators, who introduced the bill last week. Nineteen Republican senators also cosponsored the legislation.
Under a nuclear agreement reached in Geneva last month, the United States should not impose fresh economic sanctions against Iran over the next six months.
Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) is leading the charge to pass legislation in January that would impose additional sanctions on Iran.
Other Democratic senators are Sen. Mark Begich (Alaska), Sen. Richard Blumenthal (Conn.), Sen. Cory Booker (N.J.), Sen. Ben Cardin (Md.), Sen. Bob Casey (Pa.), Sen. Chris Coons (Del.), Sen. Joe Donnelly (Ind.), Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (N.Y.), Sen. Kay Hagan (N.C.), Sen. Mary Landrieu (La.), Sen. Joe Manchin (W.Va.), Sen. Mark Pryor (Ark.), Sen. Charles Schumer (N.Y.) and Sen. Mark Warner (Va.).
The bill proposes boycotting Iranian oil exports within a year and the blacklisting of Iran's mining, engineering and construction industries.
The Senate bill also calls for "diplomatic, military and economic support" to Israel in case Tel Aviv decides to launch an attack against Iran's nuclear energy program.
President Barack Obama, however, threatened to veto the bill introduced in the Senate. He also warned that the United States should not impose further sanctions against Iran "if we are serious" about seeking a final agreement.
"There is no need for new sanctions legislation. Not yet," Obama said. "It's not going to be hard for us to turn the dials back, strengthen the sanctions even further. I'll work with members of Congress to put even more pressure on Iran."
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif had warned that the Geneva agreement will be "dead" if Washington imposes new sanctions.
Who is winning the struggle for hearts and minds in today's world?
It certainly isn't Obama, the US or the EU.
It's Mr. Vladimir Putin, regardless of what one may think of him.
Putin was asked to name three principles he believes are essential for a leader to follow.
The first one is never to evade responsibility, he said. “One you start doing so – the game is over.”
The second principle is to never make headstrong decisions alone without listening to advice, he added. “But if opinions are split, one must have courage to make the final decision.”
Finally, according to Putin, a leader must always understand what the daily concerns of ordinary people are.
“You can’t work otherwise,” the president said.
And if he is genuinely true to his avowed principles that is why Vladimir Putin is winning.
Unfortunately in the US, our leaders duck responsibility, make rash decisions (and often very bad ones bereft of counterpoint) and are totally disconnected from the concerns of ordinary folks (unless you count phony campaign promises).
What I cannot discern is whether Putin is truly following his principles. Russia is half a world away from here. I would be a hypocrite if I disparaged Mr. Putin's character as a means of negating his message. That would be shooting the messenger, such as the politically correct indulge in.