US President Barack Obama will veto a bill, recently introduced in the US Senate, requiring a congressional review of any deal the United States and other western powers reach with Iran on its nuclear program. 

“The president has been clear that now is not the time for Congress to pass additional legislation on Iran,” said Bernadette Meehan, a spokeswoman for the White House’s National Security Council. 

“If this bill is sent to the president, he will veto it,” Meehan stressed, referring to the US President’s executive powers. 

The Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act would mandate that Obama submit the text of any pact to Congress within five days of concluding a final deal with Iran. The bill would also bar the administration from suspending congressional sanctions on Iran for 60 days.

In that time, Congress would hold hearings and have a chance to approve, disapprove or take no action on the agreement, the legislation says.

Meehan condemned the bipartisan bill led by Senators Bob Corker of Tennessee and Bob Menendez of New Jersey. She said the US “should give our negotiators the best chances of success rather than complicating their efforts.”

Republican senator Corker, however, said it was “disappointing that the president feels he is the only one who speaks for the citizens of our country.”

Negotiations between Iran and the Western powers have reached a critical stage with a final agreement due by the end of this month.