Spotlight: U.S., Iranian officials to hold nuclear talks, White House, Congress clash over sanctions

U.S. State Department on Wednesday announced a new round of U.S.-Iranian nuclear talks when the Obama administration is moving ahead on a collision course with a Republican-controlled Congress over Iran sanctions.

U.S. and Iranian officials will hold further talks on Iran's nuclear program on Jan. 23-24 to advance negotiations for a comprehensive deal, said a U.S. State Department statement.

The bilateral discussion would take place in the context of the negotiations between Iran and P5+1 group comprising Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States, and Germany, the statement added.

The first month of 2015 has so far witnessed a series of bilateral engagements between the two sides. The upcoming talks follow last week's bilateral talks in Geneva. In addition, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met twice with his Iranian counterpart last week in Geneva and then Paris.

U.S. negotiators and their Iranian counterparts are to hold a fresh round of talks at a time when the White House and Congress are heading into a deadlock over the passage of a new bill which would impose new sanctions after all parties involved in the current nuclear talks fail to strike a deal beyond the deadline.

So far, U.S. lawmakers have already finished the bill and the Senate intends to vote on it well before the current round of international nuclear talks ends in June.

Meanwhile, Obama has on several public occasions, including in his second-to-last State of the Union speech on Tuesday, vowed to veto any new sanctions bill, warning that such a bill would scuttle talks underway to prevent Tehran from getting a nuclear weapon.

During a hearing on the issue Wednesday, Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken called new sanctions "unnecessary" since Iran is already under acute pressure from the application of the existing sanctions regime.

The squabble over the new sanctions bill is only one of a series of issues over which the White House and Congress have resentment toward each other.

In response to Obama's vow to veto any new sanctions bill, Speaker of the House of Representatives John Boehner announced on Wednesday that he had invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, one of the most prominent opponents to the current Iranian nuclear talks, to address a joint session of the U.S. Congress next month.

"In this time of challenge, I am asking the prime minister to address Congress on the grave threats radical Islam and Iran pose to our security and way of life," said a Congress statement. "Americans and Israelis have always stood together in shared cause and common ideals, and now we must rise to the moment again."

Boehner told reporters that he did not consult the White House or the State Department over his invitation, saying "Congress can make this decision on its own."

"I don't believe I'm poking anyone in the eye," he said, while acknowledging his intention to rebuke Obama's nuclear talks with Iran by inviting Netanyahu to speak to Congress.

The White House later called the invitation of Netanyahu without consulting the White House "a departure from protocol", saying Netanyahu's meeting with President Barack Obama was yet to be decided.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said the White House is typically the first point of contact when a foreign leader plans any visit to Washington. "This particular event seems to be a departure from that protocol," he said.

"We'll need to hear from them about what their plans are and what he plans to say in his remarks to Congress before we have a decision to make about any meeting," the spokesman added. Endit