国际英语新闻:U.S. Senate approves sanctions bill targeting Russia, Iran, DPRK

WASHINGTON, July 27 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Senate on Thursday overwhelmingly approved a bill that will slap tougher sanctions on Russia, Iran and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), two days after the bill was approved by the U.S. House of Representatives.

The bill, approved by a vote of 98 to 2, will also grant the U.S. Congress the power to block U.S. President Donald Trump from unilaterally lifting sanctions on Russia. The bill will now be sent to the White House for Trump to sign into law or veto.

This bill came despite that Trump administration officials had called on lawmakers to grant "flexibility" to the White House in dealing with Russia.

So far, it remained unclear whether Trump will veto or sign the bill into law.

Speaking on Thursday before the vote in Senate, White House spokesperson Sarah Huckabee Sanders said while the Trump administration "supports sanctions" against Russia, Iran and the DPRK, the White House would make a decision after seeing the contents of the final bill.