The U.S. House of Representatives on February 2 narrowly approved a Republican bill targeting the landmark nuclear deal by making it hard for President Barack Obama to lift sanctions against Iran.
Lawmakers voted 246-181 for the Iran Terror Finance Transparency Act, ignoring a White House veto threat. The vote along party lines was not strong enough to overturn a veto, which would require a two-thirds margin of support for the legislation in both houses of Congress.
The bill would bar the removal of sanctioned Iranian individuals and financial institutions from a restricted list until the president certifies to Congress that they weren't involved in Iran's ballistic-missile program or in terrorist activities.
Proponents say it would simply hold Obama to his promise to enforce sanctions on Iran's ballistic missile program despite signing the nuclear accord, which lifts nuclear-related sanctions.
But Iran strongly objects to the legislation and the White House has warned the bill could cause "the collapse" of the nuclear agreement, which went into effect last month.