Iran Judiciary Chief Blasts US Sanctions, Pledges Tehran’s Reaction

In a meeting of senior Judiciary officials on Monday, Ayatollah Amoli Larijani slammed the US administration’s move to impose sanctions against the Judiciary chief of a country as “crossing all international red lines”, stressing that Iran would not remain silent on such a measure.

“The US should know that every hostile conduct will draw proportional reaction from Iran,” the top judge said, adding that he personally does not care about facing sanctions by the Trump administration.

Citing the US president’s international notoriety for his racist, abnormal and lunatic behaviors, the top Iranian judge said it is an honor for him to be sanctioned by the US, describing that as a proof of the Islamic Republic’s correct path.

The US Treasury recently imposed new sanctions against 14 Iranian entities and individuals, including Ayatollah Amoli Larijani, for alleged human rights abuses in Iran.

Elsewhere in his remarks, the Iranian Judiciary chief underscored that the 2015 nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), could by no means be changed or linked to others issues.

Reiterating Iran’s stance that the JCPOA would never be renegotiated, Ayatollah Amoli Larijani said nobody could ever connect the nuclear agreement between Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany) to other issues, such as Iran’s defense power.

On Friday, US President Donald Trump extended the JCPOA for the third time, but also laid down conditions for waiving the anti-Iran sanctions again. Trump said he will not grant another reprieve unless changes are made to the nuclear deal.

In response, Iran’s Foreign Ministry reiterated that the JCPOA is a valid international document that would not be renegotiated at all.

Since the historic deal was signed in Vienna in July 2015, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has repeatedly confirmed the Islamic Republic’s compliance with its commitments under the JCPOA, but some other parties, especially the US, have failed to live up to their undertakings.