WH hedges on sanctions veto

A White House official on Monday said it is too early to say whether President Obama would veto a potential bill ratcheting up sanctions against Iran.

White House deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes said a new round of sanctions could complicate diplomacy between the countries and cause division with U.S. negotiating partners.

“Well, we’re not there yet … because there’s not a bill that’s been passed,” Rhodes said on MSNBC when asked about vetoing new sanctions passed by Congress.

{mosads}Rhodes reiterated Obama’s statement over the weekend that Congress could quickly pass a new round of sanctions in six months if the talks with Iran fail.

“And I have no doubt that Congress could pass these sanctions very quickly, so we don’t see the need to do it now during the length of this agreement, because, frankly, that could cause divisions within our P5+1 coalition,” he said. “It could complicate this diplomacy. Let’s keep those sanctions as leverage if the Iranians cheat or if we don’t get a deal at the end of the six months.”

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