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Back New Sanctions on Iran If Negotiations Fail
(Chicago Tribune) Editorial - The U.S. and Iran have cut an interim deal on Tehran's rogue nuclear program. But Iran's nuclear program is churning along while Washington and Tehran have dickered for more than a month about how to implement the deal. The six-month clock to reach a final settlement hasn't started to tick yet. Talk about diplomatic slo-mo. We back the efforts of a bipartisan group of U.S. senators, led by Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) and Robert Menendez (D-NJ), for new, more impactful sanctions on Tehran that would be immediately triggered if negotiations fail. The legislation would dial up the embargo on Iran's oil exports and blacklist its mining, engineering and construction industries. It would cut Iran's access to billions of dollars in overseas bank funds and allow the U.S. to seize foreign-held assets of key regime officials. President Obama has threatened to veto the legislation. The Iranians warn that any move that even appears to impose new sanctions could scuttle the talks. That sounds like a bluff, and it should be called.