"My longtime concerns about the parameters of this potential agreement remain, but my immediate concern is the administration signalling it will provide near-term sanctions relief.
He signalled that any move by Obama to offer near-term sanctions relief may be subject to an attempted congressional veto.
And the resultant collapse in oil prices is set to continue, as long-term sanctions on Iranian oil exports are set to lift under the terms of their new nuclear non-proliferation agreement with a group of Western countries.
Administration officials acknowledge it will be difficult to persuade Russia to agree to harsh, long-term sanctions against Iran, whatever the assurances that the Russian president, Dmitri A. Medvedev, gave last week to Mr. Obama.
Plus, International News Editor Richard Stone gives listeners the inside story on how science in Iran has coped under long-term sanctions.
"We have to get on with the football and let the authorities do whatever they, in terms of legislation, in terms of sanctions, in terms of what they are going to do," he added.
Since neither party raised the stakes on Europe, most voters stayed at home.Those who did vote delivered a "mid-term" sanction to the UMP, which managed just 16%.
In the long term, however, sanctions will erode his base.
It was reminiscent of how Mr. Clinton focused like a laser on opening Japan's markets in his first term, threatening sanctions if American carmakers were not given access.
"When Rangers fans get riled, they're a big beast and I've never known the anger from the supporters in all my time at the club, and I'm talking nearly 50 years, at what they term unjust sanctions laid down to us," he told BBC Scotland.
