US House Extends Iran Sanctions for 10 Years

On Tuesday, the House of Representatives voted 419 to one for a 10-year reauthorization of the Iran Sanctions Act, or ISA, a law initially adopted in 1996 on the baseless allegation that Tehran is pursuing non-civilian objectives in its peaceful nuclear energy program, Reuters reported.

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.

"Even after a hard-fought election here at home and power changing hands, American leadership on the global stage won't falter," said Representative Eliot Engel, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, a bill sponsor.

Republican Representative Ed Royce, chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, the bill's lead sponsor, called the ISA "a critical tool."

This is while the Obama administration has advised the Republican-dominated Senate not to impose more sanctions on Iran after the historic nuclear agreement between Tehran and the six world powers.

The vote took place one week after Republican Donald Trump was elected US president. Congressional Republicans unanimously opposed the nuclear deal, along with about two dozen Democrats, and Trump has also strongly criticized it.

Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany), reached the comprehensive nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), in July 2015 and implemented it in January 2016.