Iran denounces new US sanctions
Rouhani to visit Italy, France Saudis alarmed, in private, at Iran’s sanctions relief
Tehran/ Riyadh/ Rome, Jan. 18: Iran denounced new US sanctions on its missile programme on Monday but pushed ahead with international cooperation after its historic nuclear deal.
Washington announced the new sanctions on Sunday, the day after the UN atomic watchdog confirmed that Iran had complied with the measures imposed by the deal with global powers reached in Vienna in July.
World leaders hailed the implementation of the deal, and the subsequent lifting of European and US sanctions, as a milestone in international diplomacy.
But in a sign that tensions persist, the US treasury announced it was imposing sanctions on five Iranian nationals and a network of companies based in the United Arab Emirates and China in connection with Iran’s ballistic missile programme.
Iran’s foreign ministry on Monday decried the new measures as “illegitimate”, with spokesman Hossein Jaber Ansari insisting the missile programme has no links with the nuclear issue.
“Iran’s missile programme has never been designed to be capable of carrying nuclear weapons,” Mr Ansari was quoted as saying by the ISNA news agency.
He said Iran would respond by “accelerating its legal ballistic missile programme and boosting defence capabilities”.
Meanwhile, the head of the UN atomic watchdog Yukiya Amano arrived in Tehran Monday for talks with President Hassan Rouhani, two days after Iran’s nuclear deal with world powers went into force.
The International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed late Saturday that Tehran had complied with its obligations under the from accord summer 2015, leading the United States and the European Union to lift sanctions imposed over Iran’s disputed nuclear programme that crippled its economy for a decade.
Mr Rouhani will visit Italy and France next week on his first trip to Europe since the lifting of sanctions against his country, a diplomatic source said on Monday.
The source said Mr Rouhani would be in Italy on Jan. 25- 26 and leave for Paris on Jan. 27. On his first day in Italy he will meet the country’s President, Prime Minister and business leaders. He is scheduled to meet Pope Francis on the second day, the source said.
The visits were due to take place in November but were cancelled after the attacks by Islamist militants in Paris.
Saudi officials have said little in public, but they fear the end of sanctions on Iran could boost what they see as its subversive activities in West Asia while also enriching a diverse economy that the oil- dependent kingdom views as a major competitor for regional influence.
Saudi- Iranian political rivalry has aggravated tumult across West Asia, but has escalated recently as Riyadh’s new rulers have taken a harder line and as the nuclear deal has relieved pressure on Tehran.