Politico: Barack Obama signs Ted Cruz Iran diplomat bill
Sen. Ted Cruz’s bill to forbid an Iranian diplomat from entering the U.S. got President Barack Obama’s signature Friday, though the president noted he still considers the law “advisory.”
The law spearheaded by the typically polarizing Texas Republican was a rare moment of consensus in D.C.: Obama’s sign-off follows unanimous passage in the Senate and House last week.
The bill would tweak existing law to prohibit entry to the U.S. to anyone who has engaged in terrorist activity against the U.S. or its allies in the past, a move triggered by Iran’s selection of Hamid Aboutalebi, who was involved in the 1979 taking of Americans hostage in Tehran, as its U.N. ambassador.
But while the president signed the law, he noted in a statement that he will continue to use “discretion” on its enforcement, citing his Republican predecessor George H.W. Bush.
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