A day after nuclear-related sanctions were suspended, the USA imposed new sanctions against Iran’s ballistic missile programme, the Treasury announced on Sunday.
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The US Department of the Treasury says it has imposed new sanctions on Iran for its ballistic missile program.
The president spoke at the close of an extraordinary weekend of diplomacy that saw the back-to-back release of the five Americans and the lifting of billions in worldwide sanctions on Iran as part of the nuclear accord.
“The Islamic Republic will respond to these aggravating and propagandistic measures by pursuing its legal missile program stronger than before and developing its defensive capabilities”, the foreign ministry statement said, according to Reuters.
Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian, former U.S. marine Amir Hekmati and pastor Saeed Abedini were sent immediately to Germany en route to the USA, while Nosratollah Khosravi-Roodsari chose to remain in Iran.
The US had launched the sanctions on Sunday amid worries that Iran’s ballistic missile program would be used to carry atomic warheads.
“It shows that the United States has an addiction which has been very hard for it to overcome”, Zarif said, specifying, “Its addiction to pressure, addiction to coercion, addiction to sanctions”.
The Acting Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Adam Szubin said that “Iran’s ballistic missile program poses a significant threat to regional and global security, and Iran will continue to be subject to worldwide sanctions”.
Speaking after Americans who had been imprisoned and freed by Iran had left the country, Obama said Iran now would not “get its hands on a nuclear bomb” and the planet would be more secure.
The restrictions aim to increase the time Iran would need to make enough fissile material for a nuclear weapon from several months to a year.
His US counterpart Barack Obama was more cautious, commenting that the deal was “not meant to solve all US differences with Iran”.
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“I reiterate the need to be vigilant about the deceit and treachery of arrogant countries, especially the United States, in this (nuclear) issue and other issues”, Khamenei said.
