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In US Senate;

Delaying new sanctions against Iran
US Senate will not impose new sanctions against Iran before upcoming Geneva talks.
(LHVnews)—

The US Senate is unlikely to impose a fresh round of sanctions on the Islamic Republic until after Tehran holds nuclear talks with world powers later this month, lawmakers and congressional aides said.
The Senate Banking Committee had been due in September to look at a new package of sanctions passed in July by the House of Representatives, but now it will not do so for at least a few more weeks, Reuters reported.
That could create a better atmosphere at talks between Iran and six major nations in Geneva on October 15-16, the first such encounter since President Barack Obama and new Iranian President Hassan Rouhani held a historic phone call last week.
While the sanctions issue has been slowed by congressional wrangling over the US government shutdown, lawmakers acknowledged that the idea had come up of deliberately delaying new sanctions to improve the mood at the Geneva talks.
Catherine Ashton, the European Union's foreign policy chief, made clear on Monday she would prefer US lawmakers and others not to impose additional sanctions before the nuclear talks. “I would like to get to Geneva with the best possible atmosphere to really have these negotiations,” she said.
Congressional aides familiar with the issue said some Obama administration officials have been quietly pressing for Congress to hold off.
The last round of sanctions against Iran were imposed by the Congress in late July with 400 votes for the move. The sanctions targeted Iran’s oil exports.
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