WASHINGTON, Nov. 24 (Xinhua) -- The White House warned Monday that additional sanctions on Iran would be "counterproductive," as the Islamic republic and the major powers had agreed to extend their nuclear talks for another seven months.
"We continue to believe that adding on sanctions while negotiations are ongoing would be counterproductive," spokesman Josh Earnest said, in response to some lawmakers clamoring for increased sanctions on Tehran after negotiators failed to close a deal by the Monday deadline following days-long intense talks in Vienna, Austria.
"The concern that we have is that layering on additional sanctions could leave some of our partners with the impression that this sanctions regime is more punitive in nature than anything else, and that could cause some cracks in that international coordination to appear," Earnest said at a daily news briefing.
Despite what U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry called "real and substantial progress" being made in talks in Vienna, Iran and the six powers -- Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States plus Germany -- could not close gaps on key issues for a comprehensive deal.
The two sides failed to agree on the number of centrifuges Iran will be allowed to keep under a deal and the pace at which the sanctions on Tehran will be lifted. Instead, they decided to continue their talks till July 1 and aim at a framework agreement by March 1, with expert-level talks set to start in December.
Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a Republican, called for "new sanctions" on Iran, saying "The Obama administration should realize that the Iranians are not serious about these talks and should abandon the negotiations."
"Now more than ever, it's critical that Congress enacts sanctions that give Iran's mullahs no choice but to dismantle their illicit nuclear program," Republican Senator Mark Kirk said in a statement. "Congress will not give Iran more time to build a nuclear bomb."
While acknowledging the sanctions regime had played a role in bringing Iran to the negotiating table, State Department spokesman Jeffrey Rathke stressed that "Sanctions are not alone going to get us the comprehensive deal."
Under an interim deal reached in Geneva in November last year, Iran agreed to suspend some sensitive nuclear activities in exchange for limited sanction relief by the West, while a comprehensive deal was sought through negotiations.
Iran and the six powers agreed in July to extend their talks for another four months till Nov. 24, as they could not narrow down significant gaps on key issues during the past six months.
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