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The ISA was first adopted in 1996 to punish investments in Iran's energy industry and deter its alleged pursuit of nuclear weapons. The sanctions act will expire on December 31st, 2016 unless it’s extended. With the approval by both houses in the US, ISA will become a major obstacle in the normalization of relations between Iran and the US and the West.
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| Representatives ofthe U.S., U.K., Iran, European Union, Germany, France and China pose for a photograph after finalizing the Iran nuclear agreement in July 2015. |
Iran has strongly reacted to the US Senate’s decision. The Iranian Foreign Ministry said the extension of the Sanctions Act for another 10 years violates the historic nuclear deal between Iran and the P5+1 group signed in 2015. Iran threatened to strongly retaliate against the US if the Act is signed into law. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei opposed the US’s extension of the sanctions act saying it ran counter to commitments in the nuclear deal to removing previous sanctions and not imposing new sanctions,
The extension of the ISA for another ten years is likely to help the new administration of US President-elect Donald Trump to impose further sanctions, which have been eased by his predecessor President. During his election campaign, Donald Trump criticized the nuclear deal saying it was “disastrous” and warned that he would dismantle the deal if elected. Trump also condemned the sanctions that have prevented American enterprises from entering the Iranian market.
On December 3, the power-transferring group of Mr. Trump said they were considering new sanctions against Iran which are not related to Iran’s nuclear program. The new sanctions are likely to be focused on the ballistic missile programs and human rights issue.
The bill on the ISA will be submitted to President Barack Obama for signing into law before President Obama leaves his office on January 20, 2017. The US State Department released a statement saying the Obama administration will maintain the nuclear deal between Iran and the P5+1. But observers say the future of the deal is uncertain under the next US administration of President-elect Donald Trump.
