Boehner brushes off Obama veto threat

President Obama’s threat to veto Iran sanctions legislation won’t stop Congress from acting, Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) vowed Friday.

“Iran is a state sponsor of terror with an abysmal human rights record, and yet President Obama is so committed to his negotiations with this regime that he is vowing to veto tougher sanctions,” Boehner said in a statement Friday.

“No White House threat will stop us from doing the right thing to protect the United States and its allies.”

{mosads}Earlier in the day, Obama pleaded for patience from lawmakers on additional sanctions legislation. He warned that the threat would be interpreted as a violation of the agreement reached by world powers with Iran to enter negotiations in exchange for sanctions relief, and could undercut and undermine the negotiations.

“I am asking Congress to hold off, because our negotiators, our partners, those who are most intimately involved in this, assess that it will jeopardize the possibility of providing a diplomatic solution to one of the most difficult and long-lasting national security problems that we’ve faced in a very long time,” Obama said.

The president also warned lawmakers that the legislation could raise the risk of military conflict.

“Congress should be aware that if this diplomatic solution fails, then the risks and likelihood that this ends up being at some point a military confrontation is heightened, and Congress will have to own that,” he said.