Iranian president vows due response to US sanctions

President Hassan Rouhani has vowed that Iran will reciprocate the sanctions that are imposed by the United States against the Islamic Republic “under any pretext.”

“Surely, if the Americans seek to apply sanctions against us under whatever title or pretext, the great nation of Iran would aptly respond to them,” President Hassan Rouhani told a government session on Wednesday.

The administration of US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that it was imposing new economic sanctions against Iran over its ballistic missile program.

The US Departments of Treasury and State said they were targeting 18 Iranian individuals, groups and networks, freezing their assets in the US and preventing Americans from doing business with them.

Rouhani further said the Iranian Parliament would ratify reciprocal measures in response to US congressional measures.

The nuclear-related sanctions against Iran were lifted under its 2015 nuclear deal with six world powers, including the US.

However, since Trump’s inauguration, Washington has slapped a series of new sanctions against Iranian individuals and entities over the Islamic Republic’s missile work, which is not in breach of the nuclear agreement.

On Monday, the Trump administration certified to Congress that Iran was in compliance with the accord. It had also verified Iran’s compliance once back in April.

Washington, however, alleged that Iran was “in default of the spirit” of the deal.

On Friday, Foreign Minister Zarif has said the US was both in violation of the text and the spirit of the deal, officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Read more:

• US defies both letter, spirit of JCPOA: Zarif

While working feverishly across the international community to tarnish Iran’s global image, Washington has also prevented the deal from fully yielding the intended results by refusing to offer international financial institutions the guarantees they need in order to restore transactions with the Islamic Republic.

Trump has called the agreement “a very bad” deal. During his presidential campaign, he had even threatened to rip it up.

The United Nations and the European Union have, however, warned that the US could not unilaterally rescind the multilateral agreement. They regard the deal as a triumph for diplomacy and a major contributing factor to regional and international peace and stability.

“We are glad that our partners in the P5+1 have steadfastly employed perseverance to safeguard the JCPOA,” President Rouhani said in reference to the group of nations with which Iran signed the deal, namely the US, the UK, France, Russia, and China plus Germany.

“As always, Americans resorted to duplicity in their actions,” he added.

Every country’s political position, he said, has to do with how much it can be trusted when it comes to international accords. The US is currently trampling upon many of its obligations, Rouhani said, making a reference to Washington going against the Paris climate deal and the rapprochement with Cuba.

“This shows that the US cannot be a promoter of human rights, legal positivism, stability, and security in the world. A party, which is not stable itself, does not respect laws and regulations, and does not honor its own signature, cannot invite others to stability, security, and calm,” the Iranian chief executive concluded.

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