Al Monitor| Julian Pecquet: Secretary of State John Kerry visited Capitol Hill ?Tuesday evening to caution Senate Democrats against renewing Iran sanctions and to urge them to prevent the incoming administration from unraveling his hard-fought nuclear deal. 


The low-key meeting comes ahead of a Senate vote later this week to renew for another 10 years sanctions on Iran's energy, trade, defense and banking sectors that will expire at the end of this year. The White House has stopped short of saying it will veto the bill, but has sought to delay a vote.

Administration officials have also made it clear that they think passing it will antagonize the Iranians without giving the executive branch any powers it doesn't already have to “snap back” sanctions if Tehran violates the deal. After the House of Representatives passed the bill by a lopsided vote of 419-1 two weeks ago, Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said the sanctions' extension would “surely constitute a violation of the [Iran deal] and [the United States] should know that the Islamic Republic will definitely react to it.”

“[Kerry] is proud of the deal and started out by saying so,” said Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., who organized the meeting. “We're coming up for a vote on sanctions, and he gave us thoughts on that. We're concerned about what happens in the next election in Iran, which is coming up soon, and we hope that the forces in Iran that are working toward moderation” will be victorious.
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