Obama administration working against congressional sanctions against Iran
The Los Angeles Times:
The Obama administration, which labored for months to impose tough new United Nations sanctions against Iran, now is pushing in the opposite direction against Congress as it crafts U.S. sanctions that the White House fears may go too far.Administration officials have begun negotiations with congressional leaders, who are working on versions of House and Senate bills that would punish companies that sell refined petroleum products to Iran or help the country's oil industry.
Unlike the U.N. measures, congressional action would pertain only to U.S. policies and agencies and would not be binding on other countries. Other countries and groups of nations also are considering adopting measures to augment the U.N. action.
In fact, much of Europe, including France and Great Britain, have indicated that they would join America in such a sanctions regime. But Obama has made it clear that he thinks congressional sanctions as they are now drawn would anger Russia and China, who don't mind selling refined petroleum products to Iran at all. So instead of sanctions with teeth, we are likely to see a mirror image of what the UN is trying to do.
More evidence - if anyone needed any - that the Obama administration is simply going through the motions of opposing Iranian nuclear policy; that they have already accepted a de facto nuclear Iran.
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