US to deal harshly with violators of Iran sanctions

US President Barack Obama addresses a joint news conference with French President Francois Hollande in the East Room of the White House in Washington, February 11, 2014. [Photo/Agencies]

Congressional Republicans, who want to pass tough new sanctions legislation despite White House assertions that such a move would threaten the talks with Iran, said they were concerned that the international sanctions regime against Iran was falling apart.

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Senator Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican, noted that Iranian President Hassan Rouhani tweeted that 117 delegations had visited his country seeking to do business in the future.

"I believe that the smart money is that the sanctions are pretty much over, and everybody's trying to get in line to do business with Iran, and that we're losing our leverage," Graham said at a Senate hearing on Tuesday.

Hollande is in Washington for an official state visit, and the two presidents emphasized a joint front on major foreign policy hot spots in addition to Iran.

Obama criticized Russia for objecting to a United Nations resolution on aid to Syria. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday a draft UN resolution was "detached from reality" and urged the West to refrain from what it called one-sided accusations against Damascus.

"Secretary (of State John) Kerry and others have delivered a very direct message to the Russians that they cannot say they are concerned about the well-being of the Syrian people when there are starving civilians," Obama said.

Obama said the United States was exploring all options with regard to the situation in Syria.

"Right now we don't think that there is a military solution per se to the problem but the situation is fluid and we are continuing to explore every possible avenue to solve this problem," Obama said.

The three-year-old war has killed more than 130,000 Syrians and driven a third of the population from their homes.

Opinion

Better Iran ties are good for the US