WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — In November 1979, President Jimmy Carter signed the executive order, which froze all assets of the Iranian government in the United States. The step was taken in the midst of a hostage crisis, when 52 US citizens were held captive by a group of Iranians for 444 days.
“Our relations with Iran have not yet returned to normal,” Obama said. “I have determined that it is necessary to continue the national emergency declared in Executive Order 12170 with respect to Iran.”
In the letter to Congress, President Obama said Carter’s executive order will stay in effect beyond November 14, 2015 despite the recent progress in the relations between Washington and Tehran.
In July, Iran reached an agreement with the United States, Russia, China, France, the United Kingdom, and Germany, which would guarantee peaceful nature of its nuclear program and partially dismantle sanctions against the country.
The White House has previously stated, however, that the Iran deal did not aim at normalizing relations between the two countries.
