Obama Extends 'National Emergency' Status Regarding Iran and Five Other Countries

Barack Obama, the President of the United States, extended the executive order related to the 'national emergency' against Iran and five other countries on Friday, January 13, 2017. According to U.S. media reports, Obama extended the emergency status regarding Iran, Cuba, Libya, Zimbabwe, Venezuela, and against the country undermining Ukraine (Russia) in letters to Congress. He also extended the executive order against the assets of Hezbollah in Lebanon and 12 terrorist groups in the Middle East. In this context, Ned Price, a spokesperson for the National Security Council at the White House, stated that in line with President Obama's commitment to a smooth power transition, all national emergency statuses (regarding countries) that were set to expire within the first 60 days of the next administration were extended. Price emphasized that this action would prevent the new administration from needing to rush to extend them, given that the incoming president must also appoint members of the National Security Council, and some of his appointees will require Senate confirmation. Donald Trump, the president-elect, will be officially sworn in on January 20. According to the White House, Obama wrote in his letter to the Senate and House leaders that the national emergency declared regarding Iran on March 15, 1995, must continue until after March 15, 2017. The U.S. president also referred to the nuclear agreement with Iran (JCPOA) in 2015, stating that since the International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed on January 16, 2016, that Iran had fulfilled its commitments under this agreement, the U.S. lifted nuclear sanctions against Iran. Obama added that while nuclear sanctions against Iran were lifted based on our commitments to the JCPOA, several non-nuclear sanctions against Iran remain in place. He also noted that since the implementation of the JCPOA, the IAEA has repeatedly verified Iran's compliance, and the U.S. Secretary of State has confirmed that Iran continues to meet its obligations under the JCPOA. Barack Obama emphasized that despite this, certain specific actions and policies of the Iranian government are contrary to U.S. interests in the region and pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States. For these reasons, I deemed it necessary to continue the national emergency declared regarding Iran to ensure comprehensive sanctions against this country remain in place to counter Iran's threats. The U.S. State Department, in its annual reports on the status of 'global terrorism,' identifies the Islamic Republic of Iran as 'the largest state sponsor of terrorism in the world' and has imposed sanctions in this regard against individuals, entities, and Iranian institutions. The U.S. also imposed sanctions in 2010 against several Iranian officials, including several commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, who are said to have been involved in human rights violations, particularly in the killing of protesters against the results of the 2009 presidential election in Iran. In this context, Obama extended the emergency status regarding Iran for another year.