The president of Iran has reportedly ordered his country to begin developing nuclear-powered warships. The order is reportedly in response to the extension of sanctions by the U.S. Congress, but there’s good reason to believe this is just bluster, and more than Iran’s military-industrial complex can truly provide.

According to Naval-Technology.com, the U.S. Senate voted to extend the Iran Sanction Act by 10 years. Meant to punish Iran for developing nuclear weapons and its association with terrorist groups such as Hezbollah, the act blocks the development of Iran’s oil industry, targeting both exports to Iran and financial transactions.

Indignant, President Hassan Rouhani ordered Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization to develop nuclear propulsion for warships. Rouhani has stated that the Joint Comprehensive Plan for Action, an agreement between Iran and the West that ends Iran’s nuclear weapons research, does not block the construction of nuclear-powered warships.

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