WASHINGTON President Bill Clinton has vetoed a bill imposing sanctions against Russian companies accused of selling Iran technology that could be used to develop ballistic missiles. If enacted, it would damage the U.S. national interest, making it harder to achieve the goals it is intended to serve, Clinton said in a statement issued late Tuesday. Congress had overwhelmingly passed the bill earlier this month to punish foreign companies that since January have been accused of helping Tehran develop ballistic missiles.

But Clinton objected to the inflexible and indiscriminate criteria the law uses to determine violations, arguing that sanctions could be wrongly triggered against individuals and businesses worldwide. Several lawmakers immediately vowed to override the veto and were confident of the two-thirds majority necessary to do so. Clinton has also argued that Moscow has recently moved to cooperate with Washington to halt such technology transfers.

I am particularly concerned about the impact that the bill would have on our ongoing effort to work with the Russian government to stem the flow of technology from that country, Clinton's statement said. Meanwhile, Russia on Wednesday welcomed U.S. President Bill Clinton's veto of legislation that would have imposed tough sanctions on firms that sell missile technology to Iran. We welcome this move by the head of the American administration as in the spirit of Russian-American relations and agreements reached between the Russian and U.S. presidents during their May meeting in Birmingham, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.