U.S. President Barack Obama vowed once more that he will veto any effort by Congress to place new sanctions on Iran. In his State of the Union address on Tuesday night, Obama said he will veto any new sanctions bill because he believes such a bill would undo the progress they have made so far through diplomacy.

Obama stressed that Iran’s nuclear stockpile have been reduced and expressed optimism about the possibility of reaching a deal on Iran’s nuclear activities by the deadline, which is now set for July 1.

While he maintained there were no guarantees for reaching a deal through diplomacy, he added that more sanctions would seriously undermine this approach.

Language on an updated Iran sanctions bill presented by Republican Mark Kirk and Democrat Robert Menendez has been approved, according to Bloomberg. The bill proposes escalating sanctions on Iran beginning June 30. The bill may be put to vote as early as January 22.

Radio Zamaneh