BICOM

US Secretary of State John Kerry will today brief members of the Senate Banking Committee on recent talks between the P5+1 powers (US, UK, China, Russia, France and Germany) and Iran and ask senators to place plans for additional sanctions against Tehran on hold.

Weekend negotiations in Geneva ended without agreement, although the two sides agreed to meet again on 20 November. Kerry is keen to ensure that senators who are sceptical of the interim deal discussed with Iran do not impose further sanctions, which he believes could scupper negotiations.

State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki yesterday said ahead of the meeting, “The secretary will be clear that putting new sanctions in place would be a mistake while we are still determining if there is a diplomatic path forward.”

Congressional compliance with Kerry is not guaranteed. Bob Corker, the ranking Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC) told NBC “talking with Secretary Kerry is going to be an important element of what we do.” Over the weekend, as the Geneva talks came to a close, Robert Menendez, SFRC Chairman commented, “we seem to want the deal almost more than the Iranians. And you can’t want the deal more than the Iranians, especially when the Iranians are on the ropes.”

Earlier this week, Foreign Secretary William Hague told Parliament that the Iranians should expect that if talks fail, “pressure will be there for greater sanctions, for an intensification of sanctions.” Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday reiterated his desire for a “diplomatic solution that’s a real solution that actually dismantles Iran’s nuclear weapons capability.”