Despite signing a deal with Iran to curb its nuclear weapons program, President Obama isn’t ready to lift the national emergency against the Islamic Republic.
Obama informed Congress on Thursday that he was extending the Iranian national emergency first established Nov. 14, 1979, after rebelling students stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, taking 52 hostages and starting a 444-day standoff with Washington.
“Our relations with Iran have not yet returned to normal, and the process of implementing the agreements with Iran, dated Jan. 19, 1981, is still under way,” Obama wrote in a letter to lawmakers informing him of his decision. “For this reason, I have determined that it is necessary to continue the national emergency … with respect to Iran.”
