Biden extends sanctions against Iran first imposed in 1979

U.S. President Joe Biden has decided to extend for another year the state of emergency against Iran, which enables the continuation of unilateral sanctions on the Islamic Republic.

Biden’s statement, issued by the White House press service, highlighted that “U.S. relations with Iran have not yet been normalized,” and noted that “the process of implementing bilateral agreements from January 19, 1981, continues”, Caliber.Az reports via foreign media.

These agreements refer to the Algiers Accords between the U.S. and Iran, which facilitated the release of American diplomats who had been held hostage in Tehran following the 1979 revolution. The accords also emphasized the principle of non-interference in each nation’s internal affairs.

“For this reason, the national state of emergency declared on November 14, 1979, and the associated measures to address this emergency, must remain in effect beyond November 14, 2024,” Biden’s statement read. “I am extending the national emergency with respect to Iran for one year,” he added.

The emergency order was initially signed on November 14, 1979, by President Jimmy Carter under Executive Order 12170, following the capture of American hostages in Tehran. This directive authorized the U.S. Treasury Department to freeze all official Iranian assets in the United States, including accounts held in U.S. banks and their international branches. It marked the beginning of U.S. economic sanctions against Iran.

On April 7, 1980, Carter further escalated these measures by severing diplomatic ties with Iran, banning U.S. exports of all goods, including food and medicine, to Iran, imposing an embargo on Iranian imports, and prohibiting American citizens from travelling to Iran.

By Tamilla Hasanova