US to Kill JCPOA by Passing New Anti-Iran Sanctions: Deputy FM

Iran’s Deputy Foreign Ministry for Legal and International Affairs, Seyyed Abbas Araqchi, said on Wednesday the discussions underway in the US Congress to pass a new law against Iran, North Korea and Russia amount to a totally hostile move against these countries.

Speaking on the sidelines of a seminar in Tehran, Araqchi said Iran will give a crushing response to the United States’ next move.

“Over the past years, we have always been targeted by the US government and Congress’ hostile moves and the hostilities are not limited to the incumbent government and congress,” he said.

According to a Farsi Report by ISNA, he went on saying that the anti-Iran bill which is under discussion in the US Congress does not impose new sanctions against the Islamic Republic in new fields. “The new law, if approved, is in fact a wrap-up of all the US sanctions imposed on Iran over the past years in non-nuclear fields,” Araqchi noted.

The Iranian diplomat also warned that the new law, if approved, will hamper the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and also deprive Iran of its rights under the nuclear deal.

“The new law violates various articles of the JCPOA. The US was obliged to fulfil its pledges under the deal with goodwill and a constructive approach and avoid any move violating its implementation. These are parts of the US commitments under the deal,” he added.

The deputy foreign minister also said the US House’s move stands in stark contrast with these commitments and Iran will never remain silent towards the violation.

In response to a question on the latest threats against Iran made by the US officials on the implementation of the JCPOA, Araqchi said over the past six months the new US government has been forced to confirm Iran’s full commitment to the JCPOA twice.

“The US had no other choice but to admit Iran’s compliance with the JCPOA because the International Atomic Energy Agency has for several times explicitly confirmed Iran’s commitment to the nuclear deal in its reports,” he said.

While the US government recently certified Iran’s compliance with the nuclear deal for the second time, there are rumours that they will not do so three months later, when the US government is due to confirm Iran’s commitment to the JCPOA, Araqchi said.

Iran will wait for the US next move, and will give an appropriate response based on their actions, he vowed.

“The important point is that the US government on July 18 confirmed Iran’s full compliance with the JCPOA and renewed the suspension of anti-Iran sanctions,” he noted.

Araqchi once again referred to the new anti-Iran law under discussion in the US Congress and said the law, if approved, would be a wrap-up of the current sanctions against the Islamic Republic of Iran in various fields including terrorism, human rights, and missile and arms programs.

“Though the new law will impose no new sanction on Iran in a new field, it can hamper the implementation of the JCPOA,” he said.