U.S. House votes to renew sanctions against Iran, Syria's backersNovember 16, 2016 - 14:12 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved bipartisan legislation to renew a decades-old Iran sanctions law and impose new sanctions on supporters of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, RFE/RL reports. The legislation passed quickly on a 419-1 vote, showing broad support on Capitol Hill for maintaining economic pressure on Tehran and punishing backers of the Syrian government. The bills were sponsored by the Republican chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Representative Ed Royce, and the committee's top Democrat, Representative Eliot Engel. The Senate must now act on the legislation before the bills can be sent to the president. The Iran Sanctions Extensions Act authorizes the United States to punish Tehran should the country fail to live up to the terms of the landmark nuclear deal reached last year. In exchange for Iran rolling back its nuclear program, the United States and other world powers agreed to suspend wide-ranging oil, trade, and financial sanctions that had choked the Iranian economy. "Now is not the time to ease up on the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism," said Republican Representative Leonard Lance. "Sanctions work." The act, first passed by Congress in 1996 and renewed several times since then, expires at the end of the year. The bill approved by the House extends the law by 10 years, to 2026. There is widespread support in the Senate for passing the extension and the White House signaled earlier this year that President Barack Obama would sign it. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | About 32,000 rally in Yerevan to deman Pashinyan’s resignation About 31,700 people attended an opposition rally on Thursday, May 9 in Yerevan demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. Armenian, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister to meet in Almaty Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and his Azerbaijani counterpart Jeyhun Bayramov will meet in Almaty. Viva-MTS: Tech solutions to modernize infrastructure of border village The border village has been the focus of Viva-MTS and the Foundation for the Preservation of Wildlife and Cultural Values since 2015. Ucom's fixed network launched in Artashat To mark this occasion, the company has introduced a special offer exclusively for Artashat residents. |