A bill renewing US sanctions against Iran for another 10 years because law Thursday without President Barack Obama’s [official website] signature. Obama has commented that the act [HR 6297] will not affect the Iran nuclear deal (JCPOA) [text] signed in July 2015 [JURIST backgrounder], under which world powers agreed to lift international sanctions against Iran in exchange for Iran curbing its nuclear program [JURIST report]. The language in the nuclear agreement makes it unclear whether the US renewing the Iran sanctions act but keeping the nuclear ones suspended amounts to a violation of the JCPOA. John Earnest, White House Press Secretary, stated [press release] Thursday that:

Extension of the Iran Sanctions Act, which was in place at the time the JCPOA was negotiated and remains so today, does not affect in any way our ability to fulfil our commitments in the JCPOA. The Administration has, and continues to use, all of the necessary authorities to waive the relevant sanctions, to enforce those that are outside the scope of the JCPOA, and to reimpose sanctions if necessary in the event that Iran should fail to perform its commitments under the JCPOA.

In response to renewal of the Iran Sanctions Act, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has accused the US of breaching the nuclear agreement and has ordered the head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organisation to plan the development of nuclear-powered ships. The US House in November approved [JURIST report] extending sanctions against Iran. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported [text, PDF] as recently as September that Iran had successfully maintained a stockpile of “heavy water” below the threshold. The Iran nuclear agreement was reached [JURIST report] in July 2015 after 20 months of negotiations. Iran has repeatedly claimed [JURIST report] that it has a right to nuclear technology and that its aims are peaceful.