On Nov. 23, when President Obama addressed the nation to tout the deal his administration struck with Iran over its nuclear program, he credited bipartisan sanctions passed by Congress for making such progress possible.

“However, now is not the time to move forward on new sanctions,” he cautioned members of Congress. “Doing so would derail this promising first step, alienate us from our allies, and risk unraveling the coalition that enabled our sanctions to be enforced in the first place.”