Let’s not sabotage diplomacy

Cathy Pagano, Las Vegas

Sunday, Jan. 12, 2014 | 2:03 a.m.

From the agreement to eradicate Syria’s chemical weapons to the deal to limit Iran’s nuclear program, 2013 will be remembered as a year of historic diplomatic accomplishments. I hope 2014 is not the year the U.S. Senate passes sanctions that sabotage our diplomats’ achievements.

I hope my senators, Dean Heller and Harry Reid, will oppose the legislation that would increase sanctions on Iran and encourage Israel to launch a pre-emptive attack on Iran. Why do we continually turn to war instead of actively working for peace?

If these sanctions passed, it would violate the first-step nuclear deal and likely lead to the collapse of the negotiations with Iran, which is why the White House has issued a veto threat.

The Senate should heed advice from a recent U.S. Intelligence Community assessment stating that “new sanctions would undermine the prospects for a successful comprehensive nuclear agreement with Iran.”