Anti-Iran sanctions discussed in U.S. Congress

By Azernews

By Kamila Aliyeva

Washington-Tehran ties are currently a hot topic for discussion, as the consultations on imposing additional sanctions against Iran and Russia are underway in the U.S. Congress.

The U.S. administration is planning to introduce new sanctions against Iran in the near future in connection with its program of developing ballistic missiles and alleged support for terrorism, TASS reported.

Tehran allegedly violates the "spirit of agreement" on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. Nevertheless, new restrictive measures will not be linked to Iranian nuclear program.

The new sanctions, according to the representative of the White House, will be designed to counter large-scale expansion of Iran's Armed Forces, as well as its operations in Syria and the Middle East in general.

The sanctions will target the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), the elite component of the Armed Forces, Iranian officials and legal entities.

The sanctions list will include 16 Iranian organizations and people who, according to Washington, "support the illegal and criminal activities of Tehran in the region."

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who is currently on a state visit to New York, advised the United States to rethink its approach to sanctions and realize that the pressure does not work. Speaking in New York, he noted with regret that the U.S. continues to create "more and more new" sanctions.

Zarif also said that he had not yet communicated with the representative of the U.S. presidential administration.

"There is no communication between me and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, but this does not mean that it is impossible. There are opportunities for involvement in discussion on the issue of nuclear deal. We are always open, my colleagues are on regular contact with American counterparts on the implementation of the nuclear deal," he said.

Meanwhile, the quarterly report on the implementation of the agreement, which states that Iran is in compliance with the deal, was sent to the U.S. Congress. The President is obliged to notify the Congress of the implementation of the agreement every 90 days.

The Iran nuclear deal was negotiated in July 2015 between Iran, the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and Germany. By ratifying the plan, Iran agreed to scale down its nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief.

The agreement provides that in return for verifiable abiding by its commitments, Iran receives relief from U.S., European Union, and UN Security Council nuclear-related economic sanctions.

At the same time, the U.S. retains sanctions against Iran on the missile program, human rights and on suspicion that Tehran sponsors terrorism.

Earlier in June 2017, the U.S. Senate voted to advance a bill that would impose new sanctions on Iran over its ballistic missile development, arms transfers and its alleged support for Islamist militant groups and human rights violations.