Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton said Tuesday that Congress will vote on any agreement President Barack Obama makes on Iran's nuclear program,
the Washington Free Beacon reported.
The freshman Republican added that if Congress were unable to prevent Obama from lifting sanctions on Iran, it would work with the next administration to reimpose them.
In a speech to the Heritage Foundation, Cotton said lawmakers expect to soon bring to the floor legislation to impose additional sanctions on Iran if the current talks fall apart.
The legislation would likely be based on a bipartisan bill written more than a year ago by Illinois Republican Sen. Mark Kirk and outgoing Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Robert Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat.
Despite intense opposition from the administration, the Kirk-Menendez measure managed to pick up support from close to 60 senators from both parties in the 113th Congress. It included provisions toughening economic sanctions if Iran reneges on an interim agreement that has frozen some Iranian nuclear activities in exchange for the lifting of some U.S. sanctions.
Supporters believe they may be able to get 67 votes – enough to override a presidential veto of sanctions legislation.
Cotton, who defeated two-term Democratic incumbent Mark Pryor in November by 17 percentage points to win election to the Senate, has been an outspoken hawk on Iran.
In a speech last month, he said Congress should consider supplying Israel with surplus B-52 bombers and "bunker buster" bombs for a possible strike against Iranian nuclear sites.
For its part, the Obama Administration has attempted to sideline Congress on the Iran issue.
The New York Times reported in October that if a nuclear agreement is reached with Iran, "President Obama will do everything in his power to avoid letting Congress vote on it."
On Monday,
U.N. Ambassador Samantha Power warned that if Congress were to impose sanctions, "Iran would be able to blame the U.S. for sabotaging the negotiations," the Los Angeles Times reports.
If Congress enacted sanctions, the United States "will go from isolating Iran to isolating ourselves," she said in a speech at the University of Louisville while flanked by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
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