Obama renews 33-year-old state of emergency with Iran as Senate mulls crippling sanctions

President Obama on Friday renewed America's 33-year-old state of emergency with regard to Iran as lawmakers of both parties prepared a push for crippling sanctions aimed at halting the country's alleged nuclear weapons program.

The state of emergency against the country was first declared by President Jimmy Carter in 1979 following the Islamic revolution. It allows the president broad powers to impose sanctions and take other measures in case of an “unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy and economy” of the United States.

“Our relations with Iran have not yet returned to normal, and the process of implementing the agreements with Iran, dated Jan. 19, 1981, is still under way,” Obama informed the House and Senate on Friday. “For these reasons, I have determined that it is necessary to continue the national emergency declared on Nov. 14, 1979, with respect to Iran, beyond Nov. 14, 2012.”

The announcement comes as the administration has doubled down on its tough stance against Iran following President Obama's reelection. On Thursday, the Treasury Department announced sanctions against several Iranian officials and organizations for jamming satellite broadcasts and blocking access to the Internet.

Separately, Sens. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) and Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) are hoping to include in a pending defense policy bill crippling new sanctions that would target a broad range of Iranian imports, The Associated Press reported Friday. The administration is believed to be wary of antagonizing countries that export to Iran after winning unprecedented international support for sanctions at the U.N., while also viewing the Senate bill as a strong bargaining chip to force Iran to abandon its alleged nuclear weapons program during multilateral negotiations that could restart later this year after being on hiatus since the summer.

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