Desk Report
Publish: 31 Mar 2022, 03:03 pm
Photo: Collected
Iran on Thursday criticised a
decision by the United States to impose new sanctions on the Islamic republic,
saying it shows the Americans have bad intentions towards its people.
The US Treasury announced on
Wednesday the newly imposed sanctions targeting several entities it accused of
involvement in procuring supplies for Iran's ballistic missile programme.
"This move is another sign
of the US government's ill will towards the Iranian people," Iran's
foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said in a statement.
The step proves "the current
US administration, contrary to its claim, uses every opportunity to make
baseless accusations and put pressure on the Iranian people," he added.
The United States said the new
sanctions target Iranian national Mohammad Ali Hosseini and his "network
of companies" as suppliers of the ballistic programme.
The move followed an Iranian
missile attack on Arbil, Iraq on March 13 and an "Iranian enabled"
attack by Yemen's Huthi rebels on a Saudi oil facility on Friday, as well as
other attacks by "Iranian proxies" on Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
Iran had claimed responsibility
for the March 13 missile strikes, saying they targeted an Israeli
"strategic centre", and warning of more such attacks.
The sanctions come at a time when
the United States seems close to an agreement with Iran on its return to the
2015 nuclear deal.
The accord gave Iran much-needed
sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its nuclear programme that would
guarantee it could not develop a nuclear weapon -- something the Islamic
republic has always denied seeking.
But it fell apart in 2018 when
then-president Donald Trump withdrew from the United States and reimposed biting
economic sanctions.
Iran, in response, began rolling
back on most of its commitments under the accord.
"The US, while claiming it
is ready to return to the full implementation of its obligations under the
nuclear agreement, continues to fundamentally violate it and UN Security
Council Resolution 2231," Khatibzadeh said.
Indirect negotiations between the
arch-rivals, which have been underway in Vienna for nearly a year, have
overcome most disagreements but outstanding issues remain.
Among them is a demand by Iran
that its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which carried out the attack on
Arbil, be removed from a US terror blacklist.
Subscribe Shampratik Deshkal Youtube Channel
© 2024 Shampratik Deshkal All Rights Reserved. Design & Developed By Root Soft Bangladesh