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"I'm glad we're doing something on Iran [sanctions], but if the bill comes out of committee on the floor I'm going to add Russian sanctions to it. Try to anyway," Graham told reporters on Tuesday evening.

"We will be looking at other options, including the Senate Armed Services Committee," McCain, who chairs that committee, told reporters.

Graham and McCain put out a joint statement noting they could try to move the legislation through the Banking Committee or as an amendment on the Senate floor.

A bipartisan group of senators, including McCain and Graham, introduced legislation earlier this year that would impose new sanctions on Russia for its meddling in the U.S. presidential election as well as ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and Syria.

They're also backing legislation that would require congressional oversight before Trump lifted Russia sanctions tied to Ukraine. Both bills have stalled in the Foreign Relations Committee.

Corker, who chairs the Foreign Relations Committee, told reporters on Tuesday that he wanted to give the administration time to determine the "trajectory" of U.S.-Russia relations, which he said are at an "all time low."

"We can take it to a lower level by adding sanctions. That you know might make us feel good, but that's not an outcome that I think is good for our country," he told reporters.

Sen. Ben CardinBen CardinGOP senator: I'll try to add Russia sanctions to Iran bill Corker: 'We're not going to do a Russia sanctions bill' Dem senator calls on Trump to 'immediately rescind' Duterte invite MORE (D-Md.), the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, also told reporters last week that there wasn't as much urgency behind the bill requiring Congress to sign off before Trump lifts sanctions, though he stressed he still supports the proposal.

Instead, Corker signaled that lawmakers could move an Iran sanctions bill in the current Senate work period, which runs through the end of May.

Senators, including Corker and Cardin, introduced a bipartisan Iran sanctions bill earlier this year that wouldexpand financial penalties targeting Iran's ballistic missile development, support for terrorism any transfer of weapons and human rights violations.

Graham would have the ability to try to attach Russia sanctions once it gets to the floor unless Majority Leader Mitch McConnellMitch McConnellOvernight Defense: GOP chair to unveil Pentagon buying reforms in May | Trump surge fades for contractors | McCain concerned about Army nominee's comments GOP senators dismiss Trump filibuster change Overnight Finance: Trump raises stakes for next shutdown fight | Senate confirms SEC pick | Dems drag out markup of Dodd-Frank overhaul MORE (R-Ky.) uses the Senate's rulebook to clamp down on amendments.

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GOP senator: I'll try to add Russia sanctions to Iran bill - The Hill (blog)

In the words of U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, the administration of President Donald Trump is currently reviewing ways to confront challenges posed by Iran. This most likely means looking for ways in which to curb Irans expansionism in the Middle East. But for any containment plan to be effective, Washington must examine Irans newly emerging strategy in the Levant and must understand that although Tehran still hopes to achieve regional hegemony in the long term, its current plan is to focus on obtaining and maintaining a predominant position in Iraq, Lebanon, and Syria. The bloody quagmire involving those three countries offers more opportunities to consolidate power than what would surely be a riskier confrontation in the Gulf, where Iran would have to contend with the United States and its allies. Success in the narrower approach, moreover, could ultimately strengthen Tehrans hand against Saudi Arabia and those in the Sunni bloc.

General Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force division within Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), is one of those in charge of executing the new policy vision. For the last three years, he has been kept busy setting up the building blocks for at least one, but more likely two, land corridors across the Levant (one in the north and one in the south), linking Iran to the Mediterranean. These pathways would traverse a distance of at least 800 miles from Irans western borders through the Euphrates and Tigris valleys and the vast expanses of desert in Iraq and Syria, providing a link to Hezbollah in Lebanon, and finally ending at the edge of the Golan Heights. The two corridors would serve as chains to move military supplies or militiamen when needed. Lately, a number of Iranian-sponsored Shiite militias have mentioned in public their efforts to move their fighters along these routes. Forces from the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, for example, are present in Syria and in Iraq, while key Iraqi Shiite

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Iran's Ambitions in the Levant | Foreign Affairs - Foreign Affairs (subscription)

The San Luis Obispo Tribune

Report: Iran becomes self-sufficient in gasoline production The San Luis Obispo Tribune Iran has become self-sufficient in producing the amount of gasoline the country requires on a daily basis, the official IRNA news agency reported on Sunday. President Hassan Rouhani inaugurated a new refinery that produces some 12 million liters (3.17 ... and more »

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Report: Iran becomes self-sufficient in gasoline production - The San Luis Obispo Tribune

TEHRAN Wary of U.S. President Donald Trump's tough talk on Iran, the European Union is courting Tehran to show Iranians preparing to vote in a May 19 presidential poll that it is committed to a nuclear deal and they stand to benefit, EU diplomats say.

Europe's energy commissioner is leading more than 50 European firms in a business forum in Tehran over the weekend - the latest bid to foster new ties in the 16 months since Iran curbed its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.

Of the six major powers who engineered the deal - the United States, Britain, France, Germany, China and Russia - EU nations bore the brunt of the oil embargo on Iran and stand to gain the most from a thaw they view as a victory for European diplomacy.

Meeting with Iran's atomic chief Ali Akbar Salehi, Commissioner Miguel Arias-Canete echoed the EU's mantra that it is "fully committed" to the 2015 deal and expects the same from all other parties.

But the bloc's leverage remains limited - particularly if it is not able to shield European firms from the risk of remaining U.S. sanctions and encourage big banks to reverse over a decade of Iran's exclusion from the international financial system.

The latter was a theme of another big conference in Tehran on Saturday attended by Germany and Iran's central banks.

Some Western companies have returned - planemakers Airbus and Boeing and carmakers PeugeotCitroen and Renault - but many more have hung back, fearing Trump will tighten the screws on an already complex set of rules for engaging with Iran.

The pace and scale of Western investment is at the heart of a challenge by hardline rivals of pragmatist President Hassan Rouhani, who is seeking re-election in May.

Iran's ultimate authority, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his loyalists have criticized Rouhani's policy of rapprochement with the West, arguing the 2015 nuclear accord had not yielded the benefits he promised.

"He needs more time... He has to be given a chance," Iran's vice president, Masoumeh Ebtekar, told Reuters in an interview.

"There is a lot of enthusiasm about working with Iran now and ... I hope that the American administration wakes up to these realities," she added.

The Trump administration said on April 18 it was launching an inter-agency review of whether the lifting of sanctions against Iran was in the United States' national security interests, while acknowledging that Tehran was complying with the deal to rein in its nuclear program.

CONFRONTATION RISK

EU diplomats voiced concern that a more confrontational stance by the Trump administration could empower Iran's hardliners ahead of the elections - although there is no sign the United States intends to walk away from the deal.

EU diplomats say they share U.S. concerns over Iran's human rights record, its ballistic missiles tests, its funding of blacklisted militant groups and its support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

"We disagree that we have to address these issues by ditching the (nuclear) deal," one EU diplomat told Reuters. "This will only empower those (in Iran) with a more confrontational stance - bring out the worst in the system."

For now, Iranian leaders have kept their cool, with Salehi saying Iran will only take "reciprocal action" if the U.S. is found in breach of the deal - leaving EU diplomats caught in a balancing act between the two long-time rivals.

In recent months, European leaders have been frequent visitors to Tehran with businessmen in tow - in an effort to keep alive the 2015 accord, which also has the support of Russia and China, rivals for influence in the Islamic Republic.

The bloc's trade with Iran has partially recovered - much of that due to oil exports from Iran in what one EU official called "a direct incentive to stick to the deal".

The International Monetary Fund this year applauded Iran's "impressive recovery", with growth expected over 6 percent for the last 12 months and low inflation - a record that Rouhani has been keen to defend.

But the hoped-for a boom since the EU and United Nations sanctions over Iran's nuclear program were lifted a year ago has been hampered by separate U.S. measures in place over Iran's missile program.

"The Europeans want to at least create the optical impression they are politically invested in this deal working," said Ellie Geranmayeh of the European Council on Foreign Relations. "Even if from a commercial perspective, companies are essentially on hold."

The risk of falling afoul of U.S. measures has been enough to persuade major Western banks to stay away from Iran, andTehran accuses Washington of undermining the nuclear deal by scaring investors away from Iran.

While acknowledging domestic criticism, Salehi told reporters Tehran will remain committed to the deal regardless of the outcome of next month's vote.

There are also signs that the EU's firm stance has given U.S. officials pause, with senators saying they delayed a bill to slap new sanctions on Iran due to worries over how the bloc would react and the Iranian presidential elections.

(Writing by Parisa Hafezi; Editing by Philippa Fletcher)

WASHINGTON The White House on Sunday defended President Donald Trump's decision to invite Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte to Washington, saying his cooperation was needed to counter North Korea, even as the administration faced human rights criticism for its overture to Manila.

BAGHDAD An Iraqi commander expects to dislodge Islamic State from Mosul in May despite resistance from militants in the densely populated Old City district.

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Wary of Trump, EU courts Iran to boost moderates before polls - Reuters

PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY President Mahmoud Abbas doesnt like the Balfour Declaration and keeps demanding an apology for it.. (photo credit:REUTERS)

Nabil Abu Rudeinah, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbass spokesman, on Sunday slammed a senior Iranian official for making disparaging comments of the Palestinian Authority leader.

The statement and attack of Hussein Sheikh al-Islam, an adviser to the Iranian foreign minister, on the Palestinian president and the Palestinian struggle is unacceptable and irresponsible, Abu Rudeinah told Wafa, the official PA news site. It is not acceptable for a state that has contributed to the division [between the West Bank and Gaza] to talk about Palestine and its people.

Iran is a sponsor of Hamas, which dominates Gaza, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

Sheikh al-Islam told the Hamas-affiliated al-Risalah website earlier Sunday that what [the] PA and Mahmoud Abbas are perpetrating at the expense of the Palestinian people in Gaza is a crime.

Sheikh al-Islams comments came three days after Abbas informed Israel that the PA is stopping its payments for electricity in Gaza.

Abbas is reportedly considering withdrawing parts of other budgets that the PA allocates to Gaza.

The adviser to the Iranian Foreign Ministry also said that the PA is carrying out a proxy war against Gaza.

The PA and Iran have largely maintained cold ties, but the two sides seldom criticize each other in the media.

Abu Rudeinah added that Iran, which is stoking civil wars in the Arab world, should not interfere in internal Palestinian affairs.

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Palestinian Authority official slams Iran for comments on Abbas - Jerusalem Post Israel News