WASHINGTON, November 21 (Sputnik) – US Senator Mark Kirk's office will be working to build a veto-proof majority for his bill that would impose harsher sanctions on Iran if the administration of US President Barack Obama fails to consult Congress on the terms of the Iran nuclear deal, Kirk has told Sputnik.
"That's what I'm going to be building towards. I think in the House [of Representatives] we can hit the veto proof number," the senator said Thursday when asked if his bill would have the two-thirds support in the Senate needed to override a potential presidential veto.
Kirk explained that his bipartisan bill seeks to impose new sanctions on Iran, if the P5+1 nuclear negotiations fail to include a "robust inspection and verification regime" for Iran's nuclear program that continues "for decades".
On Wednesday evening, Kirk sent a letter to Obama, signed by all 43 members of the Republican caucus in the US Senate, warning the US president against circumventing Congress on the Iran issue.
The West suspects Iran of developing nuclear weapons under the guise of a peaceful program. The United States, the UN Security Council and the European Union have imposed sanctions against Iran over its nuclear activities. However, Tehran claims its nuclear development is for civilian purposes only, such as meeting the country's growing energy needs.
In 2013, international negotiators agreed to reach a long-term deal with Tehran that would guarantee the peaceful nature of the Iranian nuclear program by July 2014, however the deadline was later postponed to November 24.
The final round of Tehran's talks with the P5+1 group of international negotiators, comprising Russia, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, China and Germany, is currently under way in Vienna.
