United States to hold on on Fresh Sanctions on Iran to Give Room for Diplomacy

The US Senate is weighing a new round of fresh sanctions against Iran following the passage in July of a House bill that would seek to further cut Iran's oil exports by another one million barrels a day for the next year to almost zero according to reported estimates. The legislation also vows military force against Iran should they defy orders not to pursue a nuclear weapon. Wendy Sherman warned during the hearing that the current government shutdown is curtailing the government's ability to oversee the existing sanctions. "Our ability to do that, to enforce sanctions, to stop sanction evaders, is being hampered significantly by the shutdown," according to Sherman.

RT reports that the top US State Department official urged members of Congress to hold onto fresh sanctions against Iran to give President Barack Obama's administration time to assess the new conciliatory tone from the Iranian government. "Let me assure you that we will continue to vigorously enforce the sanctions that are in place as we explore a negotiated resolution, and will be especially focused on sanctions evasion and efforts by the Iranians to relieve the pressure," Wendy Sherman, undersecretary of state for political affairs, said during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing.

Sherman asked lawmakers to at least wait until US and Iranian officials meet in Geneva in mid-October (15th and 16th ) before moving forward with more sanctions. Sherman is leading the US delegation in talks with Iran. The UK, Germany, France, Russia, and China will also participate in the Geneva talks, although direct Iran-US meetings are expected be the most important of the negotiations. Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu had said the that overtures from Rouhani are from a "wolf in sheep's clothing." This is having a great influence on the conservatives in the House.

The US, United Nations, and European Union have all joined to press Iran with punitive sanctions for what they say are measures to curb Tehran's nuclear weapons programme. Iran counters the claims, saying that it simply aims to produce and use nuclear energy. The sanctions in place have devastated the Iranian economy, cutting oil exports in half while causing crippling inflation and high unemployment. Yet new President Hassan Rouhani has recently expressed a desire to reconcile with US officials, marking the possibility of new relations between the countries.

Sanctions on Iranian oil exports, shipping, and insurance businesses are biting on the economy of Tehran and costing the Islamic Republic billions in revenue each month. Existing measures already pressure countries including China, India, and Japan to reduce importing Iranian oil by threatening to block their banks from the US financial system. Recently, political prisoners wrote to President Obama about the sanctions with a view to advising him to explore the peaceful avenue the Rouhani government represents. Tehran also released numerous political prisoners whom Washington called 'prisoners of conscience'. This act also sent a kind of goodwill message to the White House.