Iranian bill aims to step up nuclear program if sanctions added

Iranian parliamentarians have drafted a bill that would accelerate nuclear activity if the US imposes additional sanctions against the Islamic Republic, the semi-official Fars News Agency reported Monday.

The proposal, signed by 220 lawmakers, would also require that a final agreement with Western powers lift all sanctions.

“The bill requires the government to annul the Geneva Interim agreement and resume all its nuclear activities in case of intensified US sanctions,” the chairman of the parliament’s Nuclear Committee, Ebrahim Karkhaneyee, said.

“Based on the bill, removal of all sanctions at once is the Islamic Republic of Iran’s precondition for implementation of any comprehensive nuclear deal,” he added.

The proposed legislation, which will be submitted for review in the coming days, comes amid a US Congress dispute on sanctions against the Islamic Republic.

The White House had expressed frustration last week when House Speaker John Boehner, a main political adversary of US President Barack Obama, announced Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had been invited to address a joint meeting of Congress just weeks before Israel’s snap elections.

Israel’s leader is expected to speak on the need to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.

Netanyahu’s visit coincides with Republican-led efforts in Congress to pass legislation tightening sanctions on Iran in the midst of critical international negotiations to prevent the Islamic Republic from developing an atomic bomb.

Obama has threatened to veto such legislation, arguing new sanctions could torpedo the talks.