A bipartisan battle is heating up over the possibility of more Iran sanctions. WSJ’s Jerry Seib explains. Photo: AP
WASHINGTON—The Obama administration collided with Congress Wednesday over Iran sanctions, and both sides were girding for a brawl that appeared likely to stretch through the year.
Lawmakers from both parties vowed at a Senate hearing to press ahead with legislative plans for new punitive measures—over President Barack Obama ’s veto warnings. Top administration officials, meanwhile, disclosed at the hearing that the international talks over Iran’s nuclear program may extend beyond an end-of-June deadline. That would be the third such extension.
Deepening the chasm, House Speaker John Boehner (R., Ohio) invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address Congress on Feb. 11 about threats from Islamic extremism and Iran. The Obama administration called the move a breach of diplomatic protocol because neither Congress nor Israel consulted first with the White House.
“We found out from Boehner’s staff this morning—no heads up from the Israelis, and no discussion with Boehner’s staff in advance either,” said a senior administration official.
The decision to invite Mr. Netanyahu to the U.S. to back a position supported by many Republicans came after Mr. Obama last week hosted U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron , who urged Congress not to adopt new sanctions against Iran during the talks and disclosed he had personally lobbied some U.S. senators.
On Wednesday, Secretary of State John Kerry spoke to reporters at the State Department alongside the European Union’s foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini. She backed the administration’s position more indirectly, urging Congress to “give these negotiations, this diplomatic channel, a chance.”
The clash over Iran came as U.S. and Iranian officials prepared to meet Friday and Saturday in Zurich, and unfolded only hours after Mr. Obama appealed in his State of the Union speech for greater cooperation in Washington.
His address previewed a series of economic initiatives that had been expected to provoke spirited debate. But the eruption over Iran, placing the president at loggerheads with some members of his own party, demonstrated the potency of that issue.
“The more I hear from the administration and its quotes, the more it sounds like talking points that come straight out of Iran,” said Sen. Robert Menendez , the senior Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, at Wednesday’s hearing on sanctions. “And it feeds to the Iranian narrative of victimization, when they’re the ones with original sin.”
Mr. Boehner denied that his invitation to Mr. Netanyahu was meant as an affront to Mr. Obama on the morning after the State of the Union speech.
“Prime Minister Netanyahu is a great friend of our country and this invitation carries with it our unwavering commitment to the security and well-being of his people,” Mr. Boehner said in a written statement. “In this time of challenge, I am asking the prime minister to address Congress on the grave threats radical Islam and Iran pose to our security and way of life.”
Mr. Netanyahu was widely believed to be interested in taking Mr. Boehner up on his offer, but officials at the Israeli Embassy couldn’t say Wednesday whether he had formally accepted the invitation.
White House press secretary Josh Earnest said the White House is typically the first point of contact when a world leader plans to visit the U.S. “That certainly is how President Obama’s trips are planned when he travels overseas,” he said. “This particular event seems to be a departure from that protocol.”
But he said the White House would reserve judgment “until we’ve had an opportunity to speak to the Israelis about what their plans are for the trip and what [Mr. Netanyahu] plans to say.”
Asked if Mr. Obama would meet with Mr. Netanyahu during his visit, Mr. Earnest said, “We haven’t heard from the Israelis directly about the trip.”
At the State Department, spokeswoman Jen Psaki also said the administration usually learns about a visiting leader’s plans through his or her country rather than Congress, but that the administration wouldn’t object to his visit.
“He’s spoken to a joint session many times in the past,” Ms. Psaki said. “That’s certainly not something we have opposed, nor do we oppose it, in general, in this case.”
Mr. Boehner said he decided to invite Mr. Netanyahu because of the need for a broader discussion of radical Islam and Iran, and acknowledged he didn’t consult with the White House before inviting the Israeli leader.
“The Congress can make this decision on its own. I don’t believe I’m poking anyone in the eye,” Mr. Boehner said at a weekly news conference with House GOP leaders.
In the Senate, Mr. Menendez, of New Jersey, is co-author of a bill that seeks to impose new, escalating sanctions on Tehran if negotiators fail to conclude an agreement limiting Iran’s nuclear program before the end of June, the diplomatic deadline.
A second piece of legislation, promoted by the committee’s new chairman, Sen. Bob Corker (R., Tenn.), seeks to give Congress the power to either approve or reject any nuclear agreement reached with Tehran.
Senior administration officials who testified before the committee said the White House would oppose both bills.
Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the White House doesn’t view an agreement with Iran as a treaty that requires Senate approval, but a matter of “executive prerogative.”
U.S. officials emphasized their view that any new sanctions on Tehran could undo more than a year of talks with Tehran and fracture the international diplomatic coalition.
“We believe that new sanctions are not needed at this time,” said David Cohen , the Treasury Department’s top sanctions official, who has been chosen by Mr. Obama as the next deputy director of the Central Intelligence Agency. “To the contrary, new sanctions at this time, even with a delayed trigger, are more likely to undermine, rather than enhance, the chances of achieving a comprehensive agreement,” he said.
Messrs. Blinken and Cohen argued that a new sanctions bill, even if not implemented until July, could prompt Iranian diplomats to pull out of the talks.
Mr. Obama, who has put the chances of a final deal with Iran at less than 50-50, traveled to Idaho on Wednesday, where the White House said he met privately with Naghmeh Abedini, whose American-Iranian husband, Saeed Abedini, was detained in 2012 and given an eight-year sentence in 2013 for his efforts to spread Christianity.
“Mr. Abedini has been held unjustly in Iran for a number of years now,” Mr. Earnest said. “His wife lives in Boise and so it’s an appropriate occasion for the president to visit with her.”
—Kristina Peterson, Felicia Schwartz and Laurence Norman contributed to this article.
Write to Jay Solomon at jay.solomon@wsj.com
WASHINGTON—The Obama administration collided with Congress Wednesday over Iran sanctions, and both sides were girding for a brawl that appeared likely to stretch through the year.
Lawmakers from both parties vowed at a Senate hearing to press ahead with legislative plans for new punitive measures—over President Barack Obama ’s veto warnings. Top administration officials, meanwhile, disclosed at the hearing that the international talks over Iran’s nuclear program may extend beyond an end-of-June deadline. That would be the third such extension.
Deepening the chasm, House Speaker John Boehner (R., Ohio) invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address Congress on Feb. 11 about threats from Islamic extremism and Iran. The Obama administration called the move a breach of diplomatic protocol because neither Congress nor Israel consulted first with the White House.
“We found out from Boehner’s staff this morning—no heads up from the Israelis, and no discussion with Boehner’s staff in advance either,” said a senior administration official.
The decision to invite Mr. Netanyahu to the U.S. to back a position supported by many Republicans came after Mr. Obama last week hosted U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron , who urged Congress not to adopt new sanctions against Iran during the talks and disclosed he had personally lobbied some U.S. senators.
On Wednesday, Secretary of State John Kerry spoke to reporters at the State Department alongside the European Union’s foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini. She backed the administration’s position more indirectly, urging Congress to “give these negotiations, this diplomatic channel, a chance.”
The clash over Iran came as U.S. and Iranian officials prepared to meet Friday and Saturday in Zurich, and unfolded only hours after Mr. Obama appealed in his State of the Union speech for greater cooperation in Washington.
His address previewed a series of economic initiatives that had been expected to provoke spirited debate. But the eruption over Iran, placing the president at loggerheads with some members of his own party, demonstrated the potency of that issue.
“The more I hear from the administration and its quotes, the more it sounds like talking points that come straight out of Iran,” said Sen. Robert Menendez , the senior Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, at Wednesday’s hearing on sanctions. “And it feeds to the Iranian narrative of victimization, when they’re the ones with original sin.”
Mr. Boehner denied that his invitation to Mr. Netanyahu was meant as an affront to Mr. Obama on the morning after the State of the Union speech.
“Prime Minister Netanyahu is a great friend of our country and this invitation carries with it our unwavering commitment to the security and well-being of his people,” Mr. Boehner said in a written statement. “In this time of challenge, I am asking the prime minister to address Congress on the grave threats radical Islam and Iran pose to our security and way of life.”
Mr. Netanyahu was widely believed to be interested in taking Mr. Boehner up on his offer, but officials at the Israeli Embassy couldn’t say Wednesday whether he had formally accepted the invitation.
White House press secretary Josh Earnest said the White House is typically the first point of contact when a world leader plans to visit the U.S. “That certainly is how President Obama’s trips are planned when he travels overseas,” he said. “This particular event seems to be a departure from that protocol.”
But he said the White House would reserve judgment “until we’ve had an opportunity to speak to the Israelis about what their plans are for the trip and what [Mr. Netanyahu] plans to say.”
Asked if Mr. Obama would meet with Mr. Netanyahu during his visit, Mr. Earnest said, “We haven’t heard from the Israelis directly about the trip.”
At the State Department, spokeswoman Jen Psaki also said the administration usually learns about a visiting leader’s plans through his or her country rather than Congress, but that the administration wouldn’t object to his visit.
“He’s spoken to a joint session many times in the past,” Ms. Psaki said. “That’s certainly not something we have opposed, nor do we oppose it, in general, in this case.”
Mr. Boehner said he decided to invite Mr. Netanyahu because of the need for a broader discussion of radical Islam and Iran, and acknowledged he didn’t consult with the White House before inviting the Israeli leader.
“The Congress can make this decision on its own. I don’t believe I’m poking anyone in the eye,” Mr. Boehner said at a weekly news conference with House GOP leaders.
In the Senate, Mr. Menendez, of New Jersey, is co-author of a bill that seeks to impose new, escalating sanctions on Tehran if negotiators fail to conclude an agreement limiting Iran’s nuclear program before the end of June, the diplomatic deadline.
A second piece of legislation, promoted by the committee’s new chairman, Sen. Bob Corker (R., Tenn.), seeks to give Congress the power to either approve or reject any nuclear agreement reached with Tehran.
Senior administration officials who testified before the committee said the White House would oppose both bills.
Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the White House doesn’t view an agreement with Iran as a treaty that requires Senate approval, but a matter of “executive prerogative.”
U.S. officials emphasized their view that any new sanctions on Tehran could undo more than a year of talks with Tehran and fracture the international diplomatic coalition.
“We believe that new sanctions are not needed at this time,” said David Cohen , the Treasury Department’s top sanctions official, who has been chosen by Mr. Obama as the next deputy director of the Central Intelligence Agency. “To the contrary, new sanctions at this time, even with a delayed trigger, are more likely to undermine, rather than enhance, the chances of achieving a comprehensive agreement,” he said.
Messrs. Blinken and Cohen argued that a new sanctions bill, even if not implemented until July, could prompt Iranian diplomats to pull out of the talks.
Mr. Obama, who has put the chances of a final deal with Iran at less than 50-50, traveled to Idaho on Wednesday, where the White House said he met privately with Naghmeh Abedini, whose American-Iranian husband, Saeed Abedini, was detained in 2012 and given an eight-year sentence in 2013 for his efforts to spread Christianity.
“Mr. Abedini has been held unjustly in Iran for a number of years now,” Mr. Earnest said. “His wife lives in Boise and so it’s an appropriate occasion for the president to visit with her.”
—Kristina Peterson, Felicia Schwartz and Laurence Norman contributed to this article.
Write to Jay Solomon at jay.solomon@wsj.com
window.location = «http://essay-writ.org»;
