U.S. votes to renew sanctions on Iran

EghtesadOnline: The U.S. lawmakers passed bills on Tuesday renewing sanctions on Iran for 10 years , underscoring their determination to play a strong role in Middle East policy no matter who occupies the White House.

News ID: ۷۳۸۰۸۷

16 November 2016

The House of Representatives voted 419 to one for a 10-year reauthorization of the Iran Sanctions Act, or ISA, a law first adopted in 1996 to punish investments in Iran's energy industry and deter Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons, Reuters reported.

The House also passed by voice vote a bill that would sanction the government of Syria, and supporters including Russia and Iran, according to ISNA.

The Iran measure will expire at the end of 2016 if it is not renewed. It must still be passed by the Senate and signed by President Barack Obama in order to become law.

The Obama administration and other world powers reached an agreement last year in which Tehran agreed to curb its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.

But lawmakers said they wanted the ISA to stay in effect to send a strong message that the United States will respond to provocations by Iran and give any U.S. president the ability to quickly reinstate sanctions if Tehran violated the nuclear agreement.