New Sanctions Yet Another Sign of US’ Malice toward Iranian Nation: Spokesman
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh described the newly-imposed US sanctions on the country as yet another sign of Washington’s ill intent in treating the Iranian nation.
Khatibzadeh on Thursday said the measure shows the United States misses no opportunity to exert pressure on Iran.
He made the remarks on Thursday, a day after the US Treasury Department announced sanctions on an individual and companies linked with him for providing assistance to Iran’s ballistic missile program.
In its statement, the Treasury said the new sanctions target the companies that procured ballistic missile propellant-related materials for a unit of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) that is responsible for the research and development of ballistic missiles.
Khatibzadeh said Washington’s move “is another indication of the US administration’s malice toward the Iranian people and is designed in line with its failed maximum pressure policy against Iran.”
“It clearly proves the fact that the current US administration, contrary to its claims, uses every opportunity to level baseless accusations and put pressure on the Iranian people,” he added.
The US claims that it is ready to resume compliance with the 2015 Iran deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), while it still continues to violate the agreement and the UN Security Council Resolution 2231, which endorses it, the Iranian spokesperson said.
Iran has been hit by drastic unilateral US sanctions, imposed by Washington after former president Donald Trump declared an unprovoked withdrawal from the JCPOA in May 2018 and targeted the Iranian economy with what he called a “maximum pressure” campaign despite Iran’s full compliance with its nuclear obligations under the deal.
Negotiations were launched between Iran and the remaining JCPOA parties in Vienna last April to bring the US back into compliance with the accord under the Joe Biden administration.
However, Washington has imposed several sanctions against Iran since the talks began, in what has been perceived in Tehran as bad faith measures.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said on Sunday that the inability of the US to make a political decision is the main obstacle in the way of Iran and the P4+1 group of countries to reach a final agreement in the Austrian capital of Vienna over the removal of anti-Tehran sanctions and a revival of the JCPOA.
