Title 42 › Chapter 23— DEVELOPMENT AND CONTROL OF ATOMIC ENERGY › Subchapter X— INTERNATIONAL ACTIVITIES › § 2160e
The President must send Congress any Iran nuclear agreement and its annexes within 5 calendar days. The President must also send a State Department verification report and a certification that the deal’s terms, sanctions relief, and time limits are appropriate and that the deal meets U.S. non‑proliferation and security goals. The Secretary of State’s report must say how well Iran’s compliance can be checked, whether the agreement’s safeguards are strong enough, and whether the International Atomic Energy Agency can do the verification work. That report must be unclassified with a classified annex. The rules above do not apply to the Joint Plan of Action signed November 24, 2013, or the EU‑Iran Joint Statement of April 2, 2015, but that exception does not cover any other “agreement” as defined in the law. After Congress gets the papers, Senate and House foreign relations committees have 30 calendar days to review (60 days if sent between July 10, 2015 and September 7, 2015). During review the President may not lift or ease statutory sanctions, and if Congress passes a disapproval resolution there are short additional waiting periods (12 days after passage, 10 days after a veto) before sanctions relief can start. The President must keep Congress fully informed about compliance. Credible information about a possible major breach must be sent within 10 calendar days. The President must decide within 30 calendar days whether that incident is a material breach and whether Iran fixed it, and must report the finding. Every 180 days the President must report on Iran’s program and compliance, covering breaches, inspector access delays over one week, possible military dimensions, illicit procurement, risky centrifuge work, diversion of materials, covert activities, banks’ misconduct, missile advances, terrorism support, human rights, and a description of sanctions relief tied to the deal. Every 90 days after the review period the President must decide and report whether Iran is fully and verifiably implementing the agreement and whether continued suspension of sanctions is appropriate and vital to U.S. security. If the President does not certify or a material breach is not cured, a bill titled “A bill reinstating statutory sanctions imposed with respect to Iran.” may be introduced within 60 calendar days and gets expedited consideration. Defines in one line: “agreement” — any Iran nuclear deal that involves U.S. action, binding or not; “appropriate congressional committees”/“leadership” — the named House and Senate committees and party leaders; “Joint Plan of Action” — the Nov. 24, 2013 JPA and its listed extensions; “EU‑Iran Joint Statement” — the April 2, 2015 statement; “material breach” — a failure that substantially helps Iran’s program, shortens breakout time, or undermines the deal; “noncompliance” — any lesser departure from the deal; “P5+1” — the U.S., UK, France, Russia, China, and Germany.
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42 U.S.C. § 2160e
Title 42 — The Public Health and Welfare
Last Updated
Apr 5, 2026
Release point: 119-73not60