MOSCOW: US President Barack Obama has extended a legal act that lists Russia, among 16 other states, as a national threat, and allows for the freezing and confiscation of assets in the US.

Russia, alongside Syria, Iran, North Korea, Belarus and other states, has been subjected to International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) since 2000 due to its ability to export weapons-grade uranium.

IEEPA is a federal law authorising the US President to regulate commerce after declaring a national emergency in response to any unusual and extraordinary threat to the US that stems from a foreign source.

It authorises the President to block transactions and freeze assets to deal with the threat. In the event of an actual attack on the US, the President can also confiscate property connected with a country, group, or person that aided in the attack.

Some analysts believe IEEPA could become a US trump card in the situation around Syria.