John Kerry urges Congress not to pass new Iran sanctions

US Secretary of State John Kerry has asked the House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs not to pass new sanctions against Iran while Western powers negotiate a permanent nuclear deal.

Mr Kerry told the committee that if new sanctions became necessary in the future, President Barack Obama's administration would ask for them. But he said new sanctions legislation now would scuttle the negotiations.

"We are committed to asking you for additional sanctions if we fail. We will need them," he said. "I'm asking you not to do it now."

He added that the US had the military capability to terminate Iran's nuclear facilities should intelligence indicate they were expanding.