Iran sanctions bill will prevent military action: Menendez to AIPAC

The chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee Robert Menendez says his Iran sanctions legislation will prevent military action against the country.

“I don’t believe we will have sufficient time to effectively impose new sanctions before Iran could produce a nuclear weapon, leaving the West with only two options, a nuclear armed Iran or a military action,” Menendez said during a speech to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) on Tuesday.

“I believe that we can prevent those being the only two options by the legislation that we have proposed with Senator (Mark) Kirk,” he added.

In December, the hawkish senator introduced a bill to impose fresh sanctions against Iran while nuclear negotiations are under way.

The legislation came one month after Tehran and six world powers reached an interim nuclear agreement in Geneva. The two sides are working on a final accord.

The White House has repeatedly warned about additional sanctions amid nuclear talks.

The sanctions bill stalled in the Senate and has not been brought to the floor for a vote, but Menendez has said he is prepared to push for one when the time is right.

Senator Menendez repeated a warning he recently gave on the Senate floor that it will “be too late” to enact sanctions.

President Barack Obama has threatened to veto the bill if it is passed.

In a White House meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, Obama said diplomacy is still the best way to resolve the Western dispute with Tehran over its nuclear energy program.

The White House has warned that the passage of new sanctions would represent a “march toward war” and challenged those members of Congress who support the bill to acknowledge that they favor military action against Iran.

“If certain members of Congress want the United States to take military action, they should be up front with the American public and say so,” National Security Council spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan said.