Biden Renews US National Emergency Concerning Iran

By Staff, Agencies

The White House on Tuesday renewed its state of emergency with Iran which was initially declared in 1979.

Almost two weeks after the United States Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, ruled out the possibility of closing an agreement with Iran soon to return to the 2015 nuclear pact, President Joe Biden announced that he will maintain his national emergency policy against that country.

According to a statement released by the White House, Biden requested this Tuesday before Congress to extend the national state of emergency regarding Iran.

“Our relations with Iran have not yet been normalized and the process of implementing the agreements with Iran, dated January 19, 1981, is ongoing,” Biden said in a statement published on the White House website.

“For this reason, the national emergency declared on November 14, 1979 and the measures adopted on that date to address said emergency, must remain in force beyond November 14, 2022,” the statement continued.

The White House statement added that the emergency declared by Executive Order 12170 in 1979 is different from the emergency declared in Executive Order 12957, which was issued on March 15, 1995, so it is different from the emergency renewal that is declared on March 3, 2022.

The national emergency was announced on November 14, 1979, after the US Embassy takeover, known as the seizure of Den of Espionage, in the aftermath of the 1979 Islamic Revolution. It has been periodically renewed since then.