With less than a month before the deadline for a nuclear deal with Iran, Sens. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) and Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) filed an amendment to the must-pass defense budget that would extend congressional sanctions against Iran for 10 additional years.

If passed, the amendment would extend the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996, currently set to expire at the end of 2016, until the end of 2026. These sanctions target Iran’s nuclear program as well as its intercontinental ballistic missiles program and human rights abuses -- sanctions related to the latter two issues are not eligible for termination or suspension as part of a final nuclear deal between Iran, the U.S. and its five negotiating partners. The National Iranian American Council has included the 1996 legislation in its list of sanctions that could be relieved in the nuclear agreement.

... Continue reading article here.