Obama Extends U.S. Freeze On Iranian Assets

U.S. President Barack Obama: "National emergency" continues

U.S. President Barack Obama has extended for one more year the freeze on Iranian assets in the United States.

The freeze was first imposed 31 years ago by President Jimmy Carter, during the crisis in 1979 when Iranian militants and pro-Islamic Revolution students seized 52 American hostages and the U.S. Embassy in Tehran.

In a notice published by the White House, Obama says that ties between the United States and Iran have not yet returned to normal, and thus the U.S. "national emergency" over Iran continues.

The extension of the Iranian asset freeze comes as Washington and other world powers are seeking to resume negotiations with Tehran over the Iranian nuclear program.

compiled from agency reports