Title 42 › CHAPTER 23 — DEVELOPMENT AND CONTROL OF ATOMIC ENERGY › SUBCHAPTER X — INTERNATIONAL ACTIVITIES › § 2160e
The President must send any nuclear deal with Iran to key members of Congress within 5 days. The packet must include the full agreement, a State Department report that explains how the deal can be checked and whether the IAEA can do its job, and a written statement that the deal lists any sanctions to be lifted and that it meets U.S. non‑proliferation and defense goals. The State Department must assume Iran might try to hide violations or change its behavior to avoid detection. The public report can be unclassified but must include a classified annex. Congress gets 30 days to review the deal (60 days for agreements sent between July 10 and September 7, 2015). During that review the President cannot lift or suspend statutory sanctions. If Congress passes a disapproval resolution, the President still cannot lift sanctions for 12 days (or 10 days if he vetoes and Congress then considers it). The President must tell Congress within 10 days about any credible possible breach, decide within 30 days whether it is a material breach and report on it, and then report every 180 days on Iran’s compliance (covering breaches, inspector access delays, covert activity, procurement, centrifuge work, financial-transaction problems, missile advances, terrorism support, human-rights issues, and what sanctions relief was given). After the review period, the President must certify every 90 days that Iran is complying and that any sanction relief is appropriate. If the President fails to certify every 90 days or finds an uncured material breach, Congress can introduce, within 60 days, a narrowly defined bill to reinstate statutory sanctions that gets expedited consideration in both Houses.
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The Public Health and Welfare, Source: USLM XML via OLRC
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42 U.S.C. § 2160e
Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare
Last Updated
Sep 22, 2026
Release point: 119-110