The U.S. Senate unanimously approved legislation Thursday reauthorizing sanctions against the Iranian regime for the next decade.
In a 99-0 vote, the Senate approved a bill that would extend sanctions against Tehran’s ballistic missile development and weapons programs not covered by last year’s landmark nuclear agreement. The measures were set to expire at year’s end.
The bill passed the Senate two weeks after the House of Representatives also approved the legislation by an overwhelming margin of 419-1.
It is now headed to the White House, where President Barack Obama is expected to sign it, the the Wall Street Journal reported.
“I expect the president will sign the legislation when it reaches his desk, and the secretary of state will retain the authority to continue to waive all of the relevant nuclear-related sanctions authorized by the legislation,” a senior administration official said, according to the WSJ.
The official also stressed the White House’s view that the renewal of these sanctions “does not constrain the United States’ ability to uphold our commitments” in the nuclear agreement and that as long as Iran’s regime “adheres to its commitments” in the agreement, “we will remain steadfast in our commitment to maintain sanctions relief.”
Lawmakers said the legislation was needed to ensure that sanctions remain in place next year to keep Tehran in check, given that other international sanctions were loosened under the nuclear deal.
“This is even more important given how the current administration has been held hostage by Tehran’s threats to withdraw from the nuclear agreement and how it has ignored Iran’s overall efforts to upset the balance of power in the greater Middle East,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) said on the Senate floor Thursday.
Based in part on wire reports
