WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama implored Democratic senators Wednesday to put off new sanctions against Iran that he warned could derail delicate nuclear talks. Regrouping at the start of a busy election year, Obama also encouraged Democrats to coalesce behind a proposed minimum wage hike as a cornerstone of the party’s economic message to voters.
An evening session in the East Room of the White House offered Obama an opportunity to deliver a message privately and in person that his administration has been making publicly for weeks: Give budding negotiations with Tehran time to play out before turning the screw further. A six-month deal between Iran and world powers takes effect next week, but prominent senators in both parties have balked at the deal and want even tougher sanctions.
