While Iranian and American officials are negotiating over the nuclear issue, the US Congress is pushing for new sanctions legislation. Even before it is finalized, drafts of the “Nuclear Weapon Free Iran Act of 2015,” co-sponsored by Senators Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and Mark Kirk (R-IL), are in circulation. The latest draft calls for new sanctions that would be “triggered by violations by Iran of any interim or final agreement regarding its nuclear program, failure to reach a final agreement in a discernible time frame, or the breach of other conditions...”

This threat of potential new sanctions has sparked an intense public debate between Republican and pro-sanctions Democratic Senators on one side and the Obama administration on the other. Even Conservative British Prime Minister David Cameron sided with Democratic President Obama in opposing the bill in a joint press conference. Although the bill is likely to achieve a filibuster-proof 60-vote majority in the Senate, Obama has already threatened to veto it. Less clear is whether the bill can muster 67 Senators to override the President’s veto.