Rouhani, Zarif slam US over new sanctions on Iran

Tehran, July 19: Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday denounced the new sanctions imposed by the US on Tehran as incompatible with the logic and spirit of the nuclear agreement signed with six major powers in July 2015.
At a government meeting, Rouhani criticised Washington saying Iran is fulfilling the terms of the nuclear deal, while the US administration is imposing sanctions under different pretexts, Efe news reported.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the new sanctions were damaging already frayed Tehran-Washington ties. “It violates the spirit of the deal. We will see whether it violates the letter of the deal, and we will act accordingly,” said Zarif.
He said that Tehran will respond to the new sanctions with reciprocal measures.
The US government announced on Tuesday the latest sanctions against 18 Iranian individuals and entities by freezing their assets and prohibiting them from engaging in transactions with Americans.
The measure was adopted a day after Trump’s administration told Congress that Iran continues to meet the terms of the nuclear deal, signed in 2015, to limit its nuclear programme. Rouhani said his country is set to announce an appropriate response.
He said Washington is currently conspiring to have Iran abandon its commitments but such a move will never succeed. He stressed that his country had always fulfilled and will continue to fulfill its commitments.
Rouhani added that Washington takes such steps because it is concerned about Iran’s good relations with Europe and Asia.
The Iranian government declared that Washington took this action due to “its failure to persuade its European allies into withdrawing from the nuclear deal”, according to Iran’s news agency IR.
Tehran urged Dold Trump to lift the sanctions to comply with the terms of the 2015 nuclear agreement. The Iranian authorities said that in retaliation for Washington’s move they would impose sanctions on US individuals and bodies acting against the Iranian people. (IANS)