The US Senate on Thursday overwhelmingly passed tough sanctions on Iran and Russia, sending the House of Representatives a bill that would prevent President Donald Trump from unilaterally easing penalties against Moscow.

The measure, which passed with broad bipartisan support, seeks make Tehran pay a price for its "continued support of terrorism."

It also notably aims to punish Russia's Vladimir Putin for meddling in last year's US election, and to make it tougher for the White House to roll back sanctions.

"Any idea of the president's that he can lift sanctions on his own for whatever reason are dashed by this legislation," top Democrat Chuck Schumer told fellow senators shortly before the vote.