Trump Signs New Iran Sanctions Into Law Over His Own Objections
Donald Trump speaking at the 2016 AIPAC Policy Conference. Image by Getty
(JTA) — President Trump signed into law a new sanctions package that targets Iran, along with Russia and North Korea, despite complaints that it includes “a number of clearly unconstitutional provisions.”
The measure passed easily in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, effectively nullifying the president’s ability to veto.
The Iran component ramps up sanctions for that country’s missile testing, human rights abuses and backing of terrorism, and further restricts the president’s ability to waive the sanctions.
Among his criticisms, Trump noted in a statement the waiting periods before the president can remove sanctions, which allows Congress the possibility to block such actions. Trump also referred to a Supreme Court case, Zivotofsky v. Kerry, in which the high court ruled that Congress cannot require the State Department to issue passports stating that Jerusalem is in Israel, which is contrary to current U.S. policy.
On Wednesday, the president indicated that he may not follow all aspects of the new law.
“My Administration will give careful and respectful consideration to the preferences expressed by the Congress in these various provisions and will implement them in a manner consistent with the President’s constitutional authority to conduct foreign relations,” Trump said in the statement.
The American Israel Public Relations Committee had lobbied for the sanctions.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
