Iran will respond to US sanctions in kind: Larijani
Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani says the lawmakers are closely monitoring all moves by the United States, particularly the bid to slap new sanctions against the Islamic Republic and Russia, and will make swift decisions accordingly.
“We have the capability to [adopt] many measures in proportionate to the Americans’ conduct,” Larijani told reporters on Tuesday.
He added that the Iranian legislators would discuss the US moves at various commissions of the Parliament and would immediately examine them at the floor.
He said the US legislation to impose new sanctions on Iran showed that Washington has failed to fulfill its obligations under the landmark nuclear agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), reached between Iran and the P5+1 group of countries in 2015.
Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council - the United States, Britain, France, China and Russia - plus Germany signed the JCPOA on July 14, 2015 and started implementing it on January 16, 2016.
Under the agreement, limits were put on Iran’s nuclear activities in exchange for, among other things, the removal of all nuclear-related bans against the Islamic Republic.
The UN Security Council later unanimously endorsed a resolution that effectively turned the JCPOA into international law.
The top Iranian parliamentarian said American officials wrongly assume that it will be beneficial to them if breach the JCPOA and added that this would be detrimental to them.
“We have good nuclear potential and can change the situation immediately,” Larijani pointed out.
The US House of Representatives votes Tuesday to impose new sanctions against Iran, Russia and North Korea.
The legislation, which is the result of a congressional compromise reached at the weekend, aims to punish Moscow for its alleged meddling in the 2016 US presidential election and Russia's annexation of Crimea.
The bill also includes sanctions against Iran and its Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) for allegedly supporting terrorism, which it vehemently denies, and North Korea, for its missile tests.
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