President Joe Biden on Friday renewed the 1979 US national emergency with respect to Iran, pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

The national emergency was announced on November 14, 1979 when radical students in Tehran seized the US embassy and took hostage dozens of diplomats, staff and guards.

The decision by then-president Jimmy Carter was meant “to deal with the unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States constituted by the situation in Iran.”

In renewing the national emergency Biden said, “Our relations with Iran have not yet normalized, and the process of implementing the agreements with Iran, dated January 19, 1981, is ongoing. For this reason, the national emergency declared on November 14, 1979, and the measures adopted on that date to deal with that emergency, must continue in effect beyond November 14, 2024.”

In addition to the 1979 declaration, a separate national emergency was declared on March 15, 1995, addressing Iran's actions related to terrorism and weapons proliferation. This emergency has also been renewed annually, with the latest extension on March 12, 2024.

These declarations enable the US to implement comprehensive sanctions against Iran, aiming to curb its nuclear ambitions, support for terrorism, and other activities deemed threatening to international stability.