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ANKARA Iran threatened on Friday to retaliate against a U.S. Senate vote to extend the Iran Sanctions Act (ISA) for 10 years, saying it violated last year's deal with six major powers that curbed its nuclear program.

The ISA was first adopted in 1996 to punish investments in Iran's energy industry and deter its alleged pursuit of nuclear weapons. The extension was passed unanimously on Thursday.

U.S. officials said the ISA's renewal would not infringe on the nuclear agreement, under which Iran agreed to limit its sensitive atomic activity in return for the lifting of international financial sanctions that harmed its oil-based economy.

But senior Iranian officials took odds with that view. Iran's nuclear energy chief, Ali Akbar Salehi, who played a central role in reaching the nuclear deal, described the extension as a "clear violation" if implemented.

"We are closely monitoring developments," state TV quoted Salehi as saying. "If they implement the ISA, Iran will take action accordingly."

The diplomatic thaw in swing between Washington and Tehran over the past two years looks in jeopardy with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump taking office next month. He said during his election campaign that he would scrap the nuclear agreement.

Iran's most powerful authority, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, had already warned in November that an extension of U.S. sanction would be viewed in Tehran as a violation of the nuclear accord.

"Iran has shown its commitment to its international agreements, but we are also prepared for any possible scenario. We are ready to firmly protect the nation's rights under any circumstances," Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi said in comments reported by state news agency IRNA.

RETALIATION

The U.S. Senate vote was a blow to pragmatist Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, who engineered the diplomatic opening to the West that led to the nuclear deal, and may embolden his hardline rivals ahead of presidential election next year.

Khamenei and his hardline loyalists, drawn from among Shi'ite Muslim clerics and Revolutionary Guards, have criticized the deal and blamed Rouhani for its failure to deliver swift improvements in living standards since the lifting of international sanctions in January.

It was not immediately clear what form any eventual retaliation for the U.S. Senate vote might take.

Lawmaker Akbar Ranjbarzadeh said Iran's parliament would convene on Sunday to discuss a bill obliging the government to "immediately halt implementation of the nuclear deal" if Obama approves the ISA, the Students News Agency ISNA reported.

Another lawmaker quoted by the semi-official Tasnim news agency said Iran's parliament planned to discuss a bill that would prevent the government purchasing "American products".

Such a bill could endanger deals such as U.S. planemaker Boeing's (BA.N) tentative accord to sell passenger jets to Iran, upgrading a fleet long deteriorating due to sanctions.

The White House had not pushed for an extension of the sanctions act, but had not raised serious objections. Some congressional aides said they expected President Barack Obama to sign the extension.

The ISA had been due to expire on Dec. 31. Lawmakers said the extension would make it easier for sanctions to be reimposed if Iran violated the nuclear settlement.

Influential Friday prayer leaders, appointed by Khamenei, strongly denounced the ISA extension and called on the government to take action, according to IRNA.

Trump described Iran in campaign speeches as the world's biggest state sponsor of terrorism and dismissed the nuclear accord as "one of the worst deals I've ever seen negotiated."

(Writing by Parisa Hafezi; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

ROME Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi announced on Monday that he would resign after suffering a resounding defeat in a referendum over constitutional reform, leaving the euro zone's third-largest economy in political limbo.

EVRY, France French Prime Minister Manuel Valls declared on Monday that he would seek the Socialist Party's nomination for next year's presidential election and said he was quitting the government to focus on campaigning.

SEOUL The heads of South Korea's top conglomerates including the Samsung and Lotte Groups were questioned on Tuesday in an unprecedented parliamentary hearing into the political scandal that appears poised to bring down President Park Geun-hye.

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Iran says U.S. extension of sanctions act violates nuclear ...

The measure passed 99 to 0 just weeks after the House passed it 419-1. It will be sent to President Barack Obama, who has not said if he will sign or veto the legislation.

"Preserving these sanctions is critical given Iran's disturbing pattern of aggression and its persistent efforts to expand its sphere of influence across the Middle East," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said this week.

"Extending the Iran Sanctions Act is an important step in congressional efforts to keep Iran's feet to the fire on a host of issues. Doing so it particularly vital if the United States is to retain a credible deterrent of snap back sanctions if Iran cheats" on the nuclear accord," said Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland, the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee.

The sanctions, which target Iran's energy, military and banking sectors, were first put in place in 1996 and have been extended and added to since then. Many lawmakers believe it was these congressionally-mandated sanctions that forced Iran to the bargaining table and led to an eventual nuclear agreement.

The sanctions are actually not in effect at the moment since the Obama administration is allowed to waive them as long as Iran is in compliance. But lawmakers were still anxious to keep the sanctions -- which otherwise would expire at the end of the year -- in law so Iran understands how serious Congress is that the Islamic state not try again to develop nuclear weapons.

The action comes weeks before the end of the Obama administration, which spent years negotiating the deal, and the beginning of the Trump administration, which has warned it might scrap the deal altogether. There have been signs in recent days Trump might not ditch the accord but might use other steps to apply pressure on Iran to stop its support of international terrorism, its development of ballistic missiles, and its human rights abuses.

"I expect that next year the new Congress and new administration will undertake a review of our overall policy toward Iran, and these authorities should remain in place as we address how best to deal with Iranian missile tests, support to Hezbollah and the Syrian regime," McConnell said.

Iran is not happy about the extension, believing it violates the international accord. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said last week his country would respond.

"If this sanction is implemented, this is definitely a violation of the agreement, without any doubt," Khamenei said in an address on state television. "And they should know that the Islamic Republic will definitely react towards it."

The White House has argued against Congress extending the sanctions, arguing it has the authority already to unilaterally re-impose the sanctions if needed. The White House has stopped short of saying if the President will veto the measure. If he did, based on the vote counts in each chamber, Congress could easily override the veto.

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Iran sanctions extended after Senate votes - CNNPolitics.com

The Department of State warns U.S. citizens of the risks of travel to Iran.This replaces the Travel Warning for Iran dated March 14, 2016, to reiterate and highlight the risk of arrest and detention of U.S. citizens, particularly dual national Iranian-Americans. Foreigners, in particular dual nationals of Iran and Western countries including the United States, continue to be detained or prevented from leaving Iran. U.S. citizens traveling to Iran should very carefully weigh the risks of travel and consider postponing their travel. U.S. citizens residing in Iran should closely follow media reports, monitor local conditions, and evaluate the risks of remaining in the country.

Iranian authorities continue to unjustly detain and imprison U.S. citizens, particularly Iranian-Americans, including students, journalists, business travelers, and academics, on charges including espionage and posing a threat to national security. Iranian authorities have also prevented the departure, in some cases for months, of a number of Iranian-American citizens who traveled to Iran for personal or professional reasons. U.S. citizens traveling to Iran should very carefully weigh the risks of travel and consider postponing their travel. U.S. citizens residing in Iran should closely follow media reports, monitor local conditions, and evaluate the risks of remaining in the country.

The U.S. government does not have diplomatic or consular relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran and therefore cannot provide protection or routine consular services to U.S. citizens in Iran. The Swiss government, acting through its Embassy in Tehran, serves as protecting power for U.S. interests in Iran.The range of consular services provided by the Foreign Interests Section at the Swiss Embassy is limited and may require significantly more processing time than at U.S. embassies or consulates.

The Iranian government does not recognize dual citizenship and will not allow the Swiss to provide protective services for U.S. citizens who are also Iranian nationals.The Iranian authorities make the determination of a dual nationals Iranian citizenship without regard to the dual nationals personal wishes. Consular access to detained U.S. citizens without dual nationality is often denied as well.

The Iranian government continues to repress some minority religious and ethnic groups, including Christians, Baha'i, Arabs, Kurds, Azeris, and others. Consequently, some areas within the country where these minorities reside, including the Baluchistan border area near Pakistan and Afghanistan, the Kurdish northwest of the country, and areas near the Iraqi border, remain unsafe. Iranian authorities have detained and harassed U.S. citizens, particularly those of Iranian origin. Former Muslims who have converted to other religions, religious activists, and persons who encourage Muslims to convert are subject to arrest and prosecution.

The U.S. government is concerned about the risks to civil aircraft operating into, out of, within, or over Iran due to hazards from military activity associated with the conflicts in Iraq and Syria. TheFAA has advised U.S. civil aviation to exercise caution when flying into, out of, within, or over the airspace over Iran. For further background information regarding FAA flight prohibitions and advisories for U.S. civil aviation, U.S. citizens should consult the Federal Aviation Administrations Prohibitions, Restrictions and Notices.

The U.S. governments ability to assist U.S. citizens in Iran in the event of an emergency is extremely limited. U.S. citizens in Iran should ensure that they have updated documentation at all times and make their own plans in the event of an emergency. For more information, see "What the Department of State Can and Can't Do in a Crisis" at theDepartment's website.

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Iran Travel Warning

Iranian officials and clerics vowed retaliation Friday against the United States for congressional approval of an extension of nuclear-related sanctions, but Middle East analysts say they expect no substantive response from Iran in the waning weeks of the Obama administration.

Instead, they said, the vote to keep sanctions on the books for another decade sets the stage for President-elect Donald Trump to adopt a more assertive posture with Tehran.

Obama is likely to sign the extension, approved in the Senate on Thursday by a veto-proof vote of 99 to 0.

State Department spokesman John Kirby said that Secretary of State John F. Kerry will continue to sign sanctions waivers, as stipulated in the nuclear deal reached last year, as long as Iran keeps meeting its obligations. But after January, it will be up to the Trump administration to decide whether to keep reissuing the waivers, which must be done every 120 to 180 days.

Each country is daring the other to walk away from the deal first, said Michael Rubin, a Middle East analyst at the American Enterprise Institute. But no ones going to want to fire the first shot.

In Tehran, the government officially referred the issue to a committee charged with implementing the agreement. But denunciations of the extension rang out from the legislature, mosques and government offices.

Leaders of Friday prayers called the vote a clear violation of the nuclear deal signed between Tehran and six world powers, including the United States. Iran agreed to limit its nuclear program in exchange for an end to international sanctions. The waivers were written into the agreement so that sanctions could be snapped back if Iran violates the terms of the deal, known officially as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

If you are to tear down the JCPOA, we will set it afire, said Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Movahedi Kermani, a prayer leader in Tehran.

And the Iranian news agency FARS reported that the legislature is preparing a ban on U.S. consumer goods, something of a hollow threat because most U.S. goods in the country are sold on the black market, smuggled in by groups tied to the Revolutionary Guard Corps.

We are closely monitoring the developments, said Ali Akbar Salehi, the countrys nuclear chief, according to Iranian state TV. If they implement the [Iran Sanctions Act], Iran will take action accordingly.

Much of the rhetoric reflects the way the deal was presented to the Iranian public, as a straightforward end to sanctions instead of a complex set of legal and financial agreements that would only gradually see Iran reintegrated into international trade.

They needed to present it as a victory, and they did, said Suzanne Maloney, a Middle East analyst at the Brookings Institution. They skimmed over the details, and they have used domestic politics as a rationale to put pressure on the Obama administration to lean forward on implementations and financial access for Iran.

Maloney said Tehran may not know how to read Trump, who has called the nuclear deal a disaster and the worst deal ever, and vowed to be tougher.

Theyre dealing with an unpredictable situation, she said. Theyve never faced a U.S. administration in which they have so little awareness of where it stands.

Several analysts said Tehran is posturing and unlikely to turn its back on a deal that continues to provide economic and diplomatic benefits.

Its possible Iran would walk away, but its highly unlikely, said James Phillips, a Middle East analyst at the Heritage Foundation. Iran is still reaping the benefits of sanctions relief. If Iran did walk away, not only would U.N. sanctions snap back but U.S. sanctions would kick in, and those could do a lot of damage to the Iranian economy.

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Iran condemns extension of nuclear-related sanctions by ...

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani takes part in a news conference near the United Nations General Assembly in the Manhattan borough of New York Sept. 22, 2016.

Reuters/Lucas Jackson

TEHRAN, Iran -- Irans President Hassan Rouhani demanded Sunday that U.S. President Barack Obama not sign an extension of U.S. sanctions, saying the bill is a violation of a landmark nuclear deal between Iran and world powers.

Rouhani promised a prompt response from Iran if the U.S. sanctions are extended.

We are committed to an acceptable implementation of the deal but in response to non-commitment, violation or hesitation in its implementation, we will act promptly, he said.

The U.S. Senate voted to extend the Iran Sanctions Act by 10 yearsunanimously, 99-0, on Thursday, two weeks after the House also approved the legislation by an overwhelming margin of 419-1.

The nuclear agreement between Iran and six world powers lifted a variety of international sanctions in exchange for limitations on the Iranian nuclear program. However the U.S. still maintains its own separate set of sanctions, which will expire on Dec. 31 if Obama does not sign the extension into law.

Speaking in an open session of Irans parliament Sunday, Rouhani said Obama is obliged to let the sanctions expire.

Lawmakers said the decades-old sanctions law gives the United States the clout to punish Iran should it fail to live up to the terms of thenuclear deal.

President Obama is expected to sign it. Although the White House has said the bill is still being reviewed, Obama administration officials said theyve determined it doesnt breach the international accord meant to slow Irans ability to make nuclear arms. That satisfies a key condition President Obama had established for his approval. The officials werent authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Well let you know what the president decides to do with it, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Thursday.

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