John Kerry to brief senators on Iran

The Senate will hit pause on any plans to consider further economic sanctions on Iran until the chamber is briefed by the Obama administration this week.

Secretary of State John Kerry will brief the Senate Banking Committee in the coming day on the progress of diplomatic talks with Iran, a committee aide said Sunday night. The committee’s chairman, Tim Johnson (D-S.D.), will not decide whether his panel will pursue additional economic penalties to Iran until after hearing what Kerry has to say and consulting with other senators.

Some of Johnson’s colleagues are itching for the Senate to join the House in passing a bill that takes a tough stance toward Iran even as Kerry continues to pursue a diplomatic solution that would lift some sanctions in return for some slowdown in Iran’s nuclear program. The Republican-controlled House took a strong bipartisan vote this summer to levy tough new restrictions on Iran’s oil exports, but thus far Senate Democrats have resisted this approach.

Some Republicans want that to change.

“No one who is serious about preventing a nuclear-armed Iran should be comforted by what transpired this weekend in Geneva,” said Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) of talks in Switzerland. “Given that Iran still refuses to give up its enrichment and reprocessing capabilities, I intend to work with my colleagues in Congress to pass additional sanctions as soon as possible.”

Rubio was joined in his call for a more hawkish economic stance toward Iran by Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), who said he would not support any deal with Iran until he is “assured” that the Islamic Republic has completely scrapped its development of nuclear weapons.

Vice President Joe Biden and Treasury Secretary Jack Lew have asked the Senate Democratic leadership not to consider new restrictions on Iran while Kerry seeks a deal.