US Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday asked a Senate committee not to issue new sanctions against Iran and urged senators to focus on what can be achieved in nuclear talks aimed at curbing Iran's nuclear programme, dpa reported.
Before testifying at a closed-door meeting of the Senate Banking Committee, Kerry told reporters he would ask the senators to "look hard at what can be achieved and what the realities are."
Imposing additional sanctions on Iran could "break faith" in the negotiations involving the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany "and actually stop them and break them apart." There are some in the coalition who "would think we're dealing in bad faith, and they would bolt."
Kerry told reporters before the hearing that the deal that fell through over the weekend was only a first step and if it ultimately didn't work out, the United States "reserves the right to dial back up the sanctions."