Obama Extends Iran Sanctions

Message Declares Iranian Government "A Continuing and Unusual and Extraordinary Threat"

President Barack Obama followed in the footsteps of his predecessors today, renewing the annual sanctions that ban US companies from trading or investing in Iran. Obama cited the “continuing and unusual and extraordinary threat” posed by the Iranian government, which he declared “contrary to the interests of the United States in the region.”

President Obama has repeatedly made vague promises of some sort of diplomatic effort with the Iranian government, at the same time as his Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, has declared that the US doesn’t expect them to accomplish anything.

These particular sanctions began with an executive order by then-President Bill Clinton on March 15, 1995 and have been renewed annually since then as a sort of public affirmation of American animosity toward the Iranian government.

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.