White House issues veto threat for Iran asset bill

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON

President Barack Obama will veto legislation that would require federal authorities to disclose all assets held by Iran’s leaders, the White House said Wednesday.

The White House said the “onerous” Iranian Leadership Transparency Act’s reporting requirements “would take critical resources away from the U.S. Department of the Treasury's important work to identify Iranian entities engaged in sanctionable conduct.

“Producing this information could also compromise intelligence sources and methods,” the statement said.

It added that the bill’s requirements may also be perceived by Iran and the U.S.’s negotiating partners “as an attempt to undermine the fulfillment [sic] of our commitments, in turn impacting the continued viability of this diplomatic arrangement that peacefully and verifiably prevents Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.”

The bill would target Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, the President of Iran, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps’ leadership, and the Quds Force Commander.

Maine Rep. Bruce Poliquin sponsored the legislation. Requests for comment to Poliquin's office by Anadolu Agency were not immediately returned.

A vote is expected as early as this week.