Hands off the Ayatollahs.

WASHINGTON – US Secretary of State John Kerry urged Congress on Thursday not to rush to renew the Iran Sanctions Act (ISA), a broad 2006 US law that imposed sanctions over Iran’s nuclear and missile programs that expires at the end of the year.

“I wouldn’t advise that for a number of reasons,” Kerry told the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee at a hearing on the State Department’s budget.

Many lawmakers have been pushing to renew the ISA quickly, to send a message to Tehran that Congress is still taking a hard line over its nuclear program, missile development and human rights record.

The effort could set up another showdown over Iran between the administration and the Republicans who control Congress.