The White House considered that additional sanctions on Iran would be counterproductive following the extension of nuclear talks between the Islamic Republic and the world powers.

The White House considered that additional sanctions on Iran would be counterproductive following the extension of nuclear talks between the Islamic Republic and the world powers.

"We continue to believe that adding on sanctions while negotiations are ongoing would be counterproductive," White House press secretary Josh Earnest said on Monday.

"The concern that we have is that layering on additional sanctions could leave some of our partners with the impression that this sanctions regime is more punitive in nature than anything else, and that could cause some cracks in that international coordination to appear," he added.

He also noted that US allies would believe that Washington was "more interested in punishing" Iran than striking a comprehensive agreement.

The US official added that the Obama administration could lose "buy-in" on the negotiations with extra sanctions.

On Monday, Iran and six world powers agreed to extend nuclear talks until July 1, 2015.

In response, Republican lawmakers called on Congress to pass new sanctions as the two sides failed to reach an agreement by November 24 deadline.