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Senator Levin Backs Delay On Iran Sanctions Bill

The chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee opposes new Iran sanctions while the United States “probes” Iran’s sincerity in negotiating limits on its nuclear program.
US Senator Carl Levin (D-MI) answers reporters' questions during the 2009 Reuters Washington Summit in Washington, October 19, 2009.  REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst    (UNITED STATES POLITICS) - RTXPSS3

Carl Levin (D-Mich.), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said Friday, Nov. 1, that Congress should not pass new sanctions against Iran while the Barack Obama administration “tests” the chances for a nuclear agreement with the Islamic Republic.

Speaking at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington a day after Vice President Joe Biden, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew and Secretary of State John Kerry briefed senators on the current negotiations, Levin said he did not know whether the softening of Iranian rhetoric since the election of President Hassan Rouhani represented “real change.” But, he added, “Whether it is a 10%, 40% or 60% chance [that the change is real], it should be tested and probed. We should not at this time impose additional sanctions.”

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