Congress plans tough Iran sanctions if nuclear deal fails

WASHINGTON (AP):

Lawmakers from both parties said Sunday they are sceptical that Iran will stick to a new nuclear deal and want Congress to prepare beefed up economic penalties to hit Tehran if the accord falls apart.

In an early morning announcement, Tehran agreed Sunday to a six-month pause of its nuclear programme while diplomats continue talks aimed at preventing Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.

International observers are set to monitor Iran's nuclear sites and ease about US$7 billion of the crippling economic sanctions.

But the announcement, after months of secret face-to-face talks between the United States and Iran, left many US lawmakers deeply doubtful of the most significant agreement between Washington and Tehran in more than three decades of estrangement.

The chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Democratic Senator Bob Menendez of New Jersey, said Sunday he would work with colleagues to have sanctions against Iran ready "should the talks falter or Iran fail to implement or breach the interim agreement."

Senator Chuck Schumer, a member of his party's leadership team, said he was "disappointed" by the deal, which he called disproportional. The New York Democrat said sanctions forced Iran to negotiate and said he plans further discussions with colleagues.

"This agreement makes it more likely that Democrats and Republicans will join together and pass additional sanctions when we return in December," Schumer said.

Congress has been layering sanctions against Iran for years, crippling its economy and putting pressure on the nation's middle class. Many of the economic penalties would remain in place during the six-month negotiating window, but lawmakers seemed to expect talks to collapse warrant new sanctions.