Head of U.S. Senate panel says near deal on Russia, Iran sanctions vote

WASHINGTON - 27 July 2017: U.S. lawmakers are near an agreement that would pave the way for the Senate to vote on legislation imposing new sanctions on Russia and Iran, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee said on Wednesday.

Republican Senator Bob Corker told reporters he expected an agreement would be announced as soon as Wednesday evening. However, he did not say whether the Senate version of the bill would strip out language imposing sanctions on North Korea, as he had suggested earlier in the day.

The sanctions bill passed the House of Representatives nearly unanimously on Tuesday, in a rebuke to Republican President Donald Trump, whose administration had lobbied against some aspects of the measure.