US Senate passes 10-year extension of Iran Sanctions Act

The US Senate has passed a 10-year extension of existing sanctions against Iran, sending the measure to the White House for President Barack Obama to sign into law.

According to Press TV, Senators on Thursday unanimously backed the renewal of the Iran Sanctions Act by a vote of 89 to 0.

It passed the House of Representatives nearly unanimously last month, and congressional aides said they expected Obama would sign it when it reached his desk.

Following Senate approval of Iran sanctions extension, the legislation will be sent to the White House for President Barack Obama to sign it into law. The US House of Representatives had extended the sanctions nearly unanimously last month.

Iran has warned that the renewal of sanctions will be a violation of commitments under the JCPOA, and has threatened reprisal if the US extends the longstanding act.

In a public speech on Wednesday, Leader of Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei warned US against renewal of Iran sanctions, noting that the Islamic Republic would respond if the US proceeded to renew the Iran Sanctions Act (ISA) which expires at the end of 2016.

“So far, the current US government has committed several violations with regard to the nuclear agreement,” Ayatollah Khamenei told members of the volunteer Basij forces in Tehran, adding, “The most recent of them is the 10-year extension of the sanctions. If these sanctions are extended, it will surely constitute a violation of the JCPOA and they (the US) should know that the Islamic Republic will definitely react to it.”

"'Initiating sanctions' is no different from 'renewing them after their expiration,' and the latter is also [an instance of imposing] sanctions and violation of the previous commitments by the opposite side," Ayatollah Khamenei said. 

Last week, Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, said Tehran has made necessary preparations and is ready to respond if the US violates the deal.

In case of the final approval of the Iran Sanctions Act (ISA), it will “certainly be a violation of the JCPOA (the nuclear agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action),” he added.

Salehi noted that Iran is ready to respond to any US breach of the JCPOA, saying Tehran, however, will make necessary decisions at the appropriate time and after the assessment and analysis of Washington’s moves.

SS