The nuclear deal saw an end to years of painful economic sanctions on Iran but Washington on Sunday announced new financial measures against Tehran’s ballistic missile program.
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“Iran will respond to such (U.S.) acts of propaganda and harassment by seriously continuing its missile program and enhancing its defensive capabilities and national security”, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hossein Jaber Ansari said at his weekly press briefing.
Still, said Ansari, “The U.S. sanctions against Iran’s ballistic missile program… have no legal or moral legitimacy”. The U.S. has only removed secondary sanctions that restrict the dealings of other countries with Iran.
On board a chartered flight that landed in Geneva were Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian, former U.S. Marine Amir Hekmati and Christian pastor Saeed Abedini.
The prisoner exchange and nuclear agreement hold promise for ending decades-long hostility between Iran and the U.S., Shakeri said.
Bayat further said that all these measures need coordination to prevent problems, because the issue is sensitive and hardliners in both Tehran and Washington, as well as some USA regional allies such as Israel and certain Arab countries, will spare no opportunity to harm the nuclear deal.
Cooperation on the nuclear programme was moving forward however, with International Atomic Energy Agency chief Yukiya Amano in Tehran for talks with senior officials on Iran’s continued compliance with the deal.
The sanctions revoked at the weekend had cut Iran’s oil exports by about 2 million barrels per day (bpd) since their pre-sanctions 2011 peak, to little more than 1 million bpd.
According to the president, Iran will now give priority status to some countries for trade and investment in acknowledgement of their support during tough times when the West had imposed economic and military sanctions on it.
Iran’s response to the latest sanctions comes one day after four USA citizens were freed from an Iranian jail in a prisoner swap deal between the two countries.
Iran has always denied wanting nuclear weapons, saying its activities are exclusively for peaceful purposes including power generation and medical research.
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Many local Iranian-Americans who gathered in Westwood said they were encouraged by the deal.
