The US Senate [official website] voted unanimously on Thursday to pass the Iran Sanctions Act [text, PDF], which would extend economic sanctions against companies doing business with Iran for 10 more years. Originally approved in 1996, the extended bill was passed onto the Senate with only one vote against it [official website] from the House in November. Prior to Senate approval, Iran’s Ayatollah Khamenei warned [press release] that he saw passage of the bill as a violation of the Iranian nuclear deal:

Starting a sanction [from scratch] is no different from renewing it after its expiration, and the latter is [also an example of imposing] sanctions and a violation of the previous commitments undertaken by the opposite side. … The current US government has breached the deal in many occasions. The latest is the extension of sanctions for 10 years…if it happens, [it] would surely be against [the nuclear deal], and the Islamic Republic would definitely react to it.

The Iran Sanctions Act will be presented to President Barack Obama, who will decide whether to sign the bill into law [press release] in the coming days.

The relationship between Iran and the US concerning nuclear power has been tense in past months. In November the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said [JURIST report] that Iran has repeatedly failed to keep its stockpile of heavy water below 130 metric tons. Heavy water can be used for nuclear energy or for the development of nuclear weapons. The IAEA reported [text, PDF] as recently as September that Iran had successfully maintained its commitments under the nuclear agreement. The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action [text, PDF] 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.