New sanctions on Iran terrible mistake

Former US Defense Secretary Robert Gates has censured a move by a number of US Congressmen to push for new sanctions against Iran, calling the potential imposition of any new bans on the Islamic Republic “a terrible mistake.”

“Imposing new sanctions right now is a terrible mistake and would be a strategic error,” Gates said in an interview with PBS NewsHour aired on Tuesday.

The American ex-defense secretary was referring to a draft bill, introduced by Chairman of the US Senate’s Foreign Affairs Committee Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Senator Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) on December 18, 2013, that would impose further sanctions on Iran, targeting the country’s energy, shipping and mining sectors.

The bill that enjoys the support of 59 senators, would violate the terms of an agreement reached on November 24, 2013 between Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council – Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States – plus Germany in Geneva, Switzerland. The two sides have also agreed on January 20 as the date to start implementing the deal.

Based on the nuclear agreement, the six countries undertook to provide Iran with some sanctions relief in exchange for the Islamic Republic agreeing to limit certain aspects of its nuclear activities during a six-month period. It was also agreed that no nuclear-related sanctions would be imposed on Iran within the same timeframe.

The draft bill and the subsequent efforts by Menendez and Kirk to rally support for it have faced strong opposition from the White House. US President Barack Obama has said he would veto the bill if it were voted on in the Congress.

Gates, who first served as the United States’ secretary of defense under former President George W. Bush, further said in the interview that any new sanctions against Iran should be tied to the failure of the nuclear negotiations.

He added that the US had “no choice but to sit down at the [negotiating] table with the Iranians.”

The Islamic Republic has also warned against the new sanctions bill and said that it would scuttle the nuclear deal with the six world powers if ratified and implemented.