WASHINGTON, Nov. 10 (UPI) -- President Barack Obama has extended the United States' "national emergency" with respect to Iran for a 32nd year, the White House said Wednesday.
Executive Order 12170 was issued Nov. 14, 1979, by then-President Jimmy Carter during the Iran hostage crisis. The order allowed the federal government to freeze all Iranian assets held within the United States.
"Because our relations with Iran have not yet returned to normal, and the process of implementing the Jan. 19, 1981, agreements with Iran is still under way, the national emergency declared on Nov. 14, 1979, must continue in effect beyond Nov. 14, 2010," Obama, who is in South Korea for a Group of 20 summit, said in a release issued in Washington. "Therefore, consistent with section 202(d) of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1622(d)), I am continuing for one year this national emergency with respect to Iran."
The president notified House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., of his action, which will be published in the Federal Register, as well.
The United States has invoked additional economic sanctions against Iran in an effort to convince Tehran to give up the country's nuclear ambitions.
