Obama Renews US 1979 Sanctions Against Iran

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US President Barack Obama renewed Monday the 1979 financial sanctions against Iran.

In a statement from the White House to the US Congress, Obama said, “Our relations with Iran have not yet returned to normal, and the process of implementing the agreements with Iran, dated January 19, 1981, is still under way.”

The statement continued: “For these reasons, I have determined that it is necessary to continue the national emergency declared on November 14, 1979, with respect to Iran, beyond November 14, 2011.”

Monday’s decision is primarily a technical one, as US presidents have yearly renewed the sanctions since the US and Iranian diplomatic ties were broken off after the taking of the US Embassy in Tehran in 1979, in which 52 US diplomats were held hostage for 444 days.

Following is the complete statement issued by the White House.

TO THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES:

Section 202(d) of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1622(d)) provides for the automatic termination of a national emergency unless, prior to the anniversary date of its declaration, the President publishes in the Federal Register and transmits to the Congress a notice stating that the emergency is to continue in effect beyond the anniversary date. In accordance with this provision, I have sent to the Federal Register for publication the enclosed notice stating that the national emergency with respect to Iran that was declared in Executive Order 12170 of November 14, 1979, is to continue in effect beyond November 14, 2011.

Our relations with Iran have not yet returned to normal, and the process of implementing the agreements with Iran, dated January 19, 1981, is still under way. For these reasons, I have determined that it is necessary to continue the national emergency declared on November 14, 1979, with respect to Iran, beyond November 14, 2011.

BARACK OBAMA

THE WHITE HOUSE,
November 7, 2011.

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