IRAN’S First Vice-President Eshaq Jahangiri has said that the new sanctions imposed on his country are against the spirit of the Geneva agreement.
‘The new sanctions imposed on a number of Iranian firms and banks are against the spirit of the Geneva deal,’ Jahangiri said on Monday.
Iran and the P5+1 group of countries (the USA, the UK, Russia, China, France and Germany) clinched an interim deal in Geneva on 24 November 2013, according to which Iran agreed not to expand its nuclear programme for six months in exchange for limited sanctions relief.
Janhagiri further said that Iran wants to continue its nuclear negotiations with the P5+1 member states, adding that it has ‘the opportunity to take similar measures; however the administration must make sensible decisions and see what measure is appropriate to take and when’.
A senior Iranian lawmaker has also slammed a fresh round of US sanctions against the Islamic Republic as contradictory to the interim nuclear deal between Iran and the six powers, saying the new sanctions prove that Washington cannot be trusted.
‘By imposing new sanctions against our country which is in flagrant violation of the nuclear agreement between Iran and the P5+1, the US once again showed that it is not trustworthy,’ chairman of Iran’s Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Committee Ala’eddin Borujerdi said in a meeting with Finnish Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja in the Iranian capital, Tehran, on Sunday 31 August.
The Iranian parliamentarian added that the Islamic Republic is serious in its nuclear negotiations with the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany and honours its commitments under the interim Geneva deal.
‘And there is the logical expectation that the opposite sides, too, seek to solve the nuclear issue through a positive approach, honest behaviour, and goodwill,’ he said.
The top Finnish diplomat, for his part, said the European countries are resolute in advancing nuclear negotiations with Iran towards a final agreement that would benefit both sides. He also declared his country’s willingness to boost political, economic, social and cultural ties with Tehran once anti-Iran sanctions are lifted.
On 29 August, Washington imposed sanctions on over 25 individuals and companies, including shipping firms, oil companies, airlines and six banks over alleged links with Iran’s nuclear energy programme.
The sanctions come as the Islamic Republic and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council – the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China – plus Germany are in talks to reach a final nuclear agreement.
The two sides signed a historic interim deal in the Swiss city of Geneva in November 2013. The agreement entered into force on 20 January and expired six months later. In July, Iran and the six countries agreed to extend their negotiations until 24 November in a bid to work out a final accord.
The next round of talks between Iran and the six countries will be held in New York in September. However, many Iranian leaders say that Iran cannot be held back by the continuation of sanctions.
Iranian Army Deputy Commander Brigadier-General Abdolrahim Musavi has said that Iran produces various kinds of radars which are capable of monitoring areas beyond the country’s borders.
‘Despite the sanctions, Iran domestically produces various equipment, including strategic radars that are capable of monitoring areas beyond Iran’s borders. Therefore, enemies know that they will pay a dear price if they dare to enter Iran’s airspace,’ Musavi said on 1 September.
Iran’s Envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Reza Najafi has meanwhile said that his country has been fully committed to the implementation of the five feasible steps it agreed with the IAEA to take.
Najafi said: ‘Iran took serious steps to implement the five practical steps agreed with the IAEA.’
Elsewhere in his remarks, Najafi noted that Iran has so far implemented three out of the five practical steps it agreed with the agency to take, the report added.
• Iran’s defence minister has hailed the victory of Palestinian resistance groups in the latest Israeli assault on Gaza, saying the Tel Aviv regime will never emerge victorious in any future war.
‘The occupying Zionist regime will no longer be the victor of any war, and it does not even have the power to decide on entering a new war, and their threats are merely a political bluff,’ said Brigadier General Hoseyn Dehqan on Monday.
The Iranian defence minister praised the capabilities of Palestinian resistance groups, saying that they have the upper hand and can achieve their goals in the face of Israeli threats.
Israel’s ‘humiliating’ defeat in its deadly war on the blockaded Gaza Strip shows the failure of Washington’s policies, said Dehqan, stressing that the time has come for the US to accept the realities on the ground in the Middle East and stop supporting Tel Aviv and meddling in the region’s affairs.
‘Any new adventurism by Israel in the region will definitely take this fake regime closer to the end of its life and will strengthen the resolve of Palestinian resistance groups to respond to Tel Aviv’s warmongering,’ Dehqan added.
The Israeli military unleashed aerial attacks on Gaza in early July and later expanded its military campaign with a ground invasion into the Palestinian strip. Over 2,130 Palestinians, including around 570 children, lost their lives and some 11,000 were injured in the raids.
Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has come under sharp criticism by many Israeli officials, including members of his own coalition, after reaching a truce deal with the Palestinian resistance groups on 26 August.
Many in Israel believe that the regime has failed to establish a clear victory in the offensive, which took a heavy economic toll on Tel Aviv and killed nearly 70 Israeli soldiers.
l Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman on Sunday called for the radical Arab MKs who took part in a ‘victory rally’ for Hamas last Friday in northern Israel be jailed as traitors.
Those taking part in the Galilee march entitled ‘Gaza Victory: This is Our Holiday,’ which commenced in the Galilee’s Kfar Kabul, included MKs Hanin Zoabi, Basel Ghattas, and Jamal Zahalka (Balad), as well as Islamic Movement in Israel head and ‘convicted terrorist’ Sheikh Raed Salah, and Raam-Taal MKs Ibrahim Tzartzur and Masoud Ganayem.
‘Those who took part last Friday. . .need to “celebrate” an extended period behind lock and key on charges of treachery and support of terror,’ wrote Liberman on his Facebook page.
The foreign minister noted that those joining the rally ‘didn’t protest out of a humanitarian identification with the residents of Gaza; instead they expressed open support for an enemy that fought for two months against the state of Israel’.
‘Therefore they should be treated as traitors and supporters of a terrorist organisation; stand them on trial and give them the “right” to stand for a moment of silence – as they did at the rally – in jail cells,’ added Liberman.
The Arab Monitoring Committee in Israel organised the event, a fact Liberman pointed out in arguing that the government must desist from treating the Committee as a legitimate organisation.
‘These are extremists who support enemies of the state, and speaking with them gives a negative message to the Israeli-Arabs who are loyal to the state, and a strengthening message to the extremists who support the terrorist organisations,’ concluded Liberman.
At the rally Zoabi, who was recently recommended by the police for trial over incitement charges, said: ‘We are part of the Palestinian people and the Palestinian resistance in Gaza, which caused Israel to fail in all of its targets, both military and political.’
In response to the statements, MK Alex Miller (Yisrael Beytenu) suggested on Saturday night that Zoabi undergo a psychiatric evaluation.
‘On the one hand she is elected by the citizens of Israel and on the other hand encourages the destruction of Israel, from which she makes a living. This is not an ideology, but a deep psychological issue. It’s time for her to solve her problems and go get institutionalised,’ said Miller.
The rally last Friday preceded another Hamas ‘victory march’ on Saturday in the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) stronghold of Ramallah, featuring Hamas activists and a telephone speech by Gaza-based Hamas leaders.
