Obama, Congress Dispute Renewal of Iran Sanctions Law

Obama Wants Delay in Renewal of Expiring Law

The White House and Congress have spent so much time fighting over the P5+1 nuclear deal with Iran recently, that another issue has almost completely slipped everyone’s minds. The Iran Sanctions Act  is set to expire in late 2016.

That’s set to be the new Obama vs. Congress battle, as while both sides agree the act can be extended and just ignored by the White House, to allow more ease of “snap back” sanctions against Iran in the future, the biggest hawks in Congress are hoping for a big extension, and quick, to show how much they oppose Iran.

The White House is urging caution, believing such a move would risk provocation a reaction from Iran, and an international perception that the US Congress is trying to renege on the nuclear deal, even though that vote isn’t coming until next month.

Though the Republican leadership in Congress is expected to virtually uniformly vote against the nuclear deal, it is not expected to be enough to block it. The votes on the extension of the Sanctions Act are unclear, but there is concern it will have added amendments from hawks aimed at harming the nuclear deal.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.