Tehran calls new U.S. sanctions a violation of nuclear accord

ISTANBUL — New U.S. sanctions targeting Iran are a breach of its nuclear deal with world powers and an attempt to abolish the accord, Iranian officials said Thursday, adding that the government will respond to what it sees as an escalation of U.S. aggression.

“We believe that the nuclear deal has been violated, and we will react appropriately,” Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Thursday.

The deal curbed Iran’s nuclear activities in exchange for the removal of some sanctions, while the new measures target anyone involved in Iran’s ballistic missile program and its Revolutionary Corps.

The “belief in Washington is that ... Iran must be put under pressure,” Araghchi said. And the goal of the new sanctions, signed by President Donald Trump on Wednesday, is “to destroy” the 2015 agreement so that Iran will withdraw, Araghchi said.

The Trump administration has criticized the deal for its narrow focus on the nuclear program, without addressing issues such as Iran’s support for proxy militias and its growing ballistic missile arsenal.

But even as the United States ramps up pressure on Iran, including threats Guard to leave the pact, officials in Tehran have moved cautiously in response.

If the White House decided to declare Iran noncompliant, it would probably be based “on little to no valid evidence,” said Richard Nephew, former coordinator for sanctions policy at the State Department.

But Iran could still push the technical limits of the deal with “small incremental steps that restart its nuclear program,” he said.

It could also restart all of its nuclear activity, which it says is for peaceful purposes, or use its military assets or proxy forces to strike U.S. interests in the region.