Tehran — Before Donald Trump has even arrived in the White House, Iran says the US has already violated the nuclear deal and threatened to build nuclear-powered ships in retaliation. Is the historic accord at risk? Earlier this month, US lawmakers renewed a law called the Iran Sanctions Act, extending its provisions for another decade. First introduced in 1996, the act aimed to cut off foreign investment in Iran’s oil and gas sector to starve it of funds that might be used for its nuclear programme or to fund "terrorist" groups. Key provisions of the Iran Sanctions Act were suspended in January when the nuclear deal between Iran and world powers came into force, although Washington has kept others linked to human rights and terrorism in place. The White House said renewing the act was pointless since it remains suspended so long as Tehran sticks to its promises to curb its nuclear programme. Knowing it would pass anyway, President Barack Obama let the law through, but refused to sig...
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