„Iran is threatening to retaliate after the U.S. Senate gave Congress’ final approval to an extension of the American sanctions against Iran that lawmakers of both parties said is crucial to enforcing the international nuclear accord with Tehran. ‚Iran has proved that it sticks to its international agreements, but it also has appropriate responses for all situations,‘ said Iran Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi. ‚The extension of sanctions by the U.S. Congress is a violation of the deal.‘ Ghasemi was not specific about what action would be taken. Last month, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said he considered the sanctions bill a breach of the nuclear deal and threatened retaliation. (…)
Enacted two decades ago, the sanctions were meant to address long-standing U.S. concerns such as Iran’s support for international terrorism. Partially lifted under the nuclear accord implemented last year, lawmakers said sanctions should be kept at the ready. (…) For now, lawmakers are keeping existing sanctions in place while not ruling out further measures to boost pressure on Iran in the future.“ (Michael Bowman: „Iran Considers Renewal of US Sanctions a Violation of Nuclear Deal“)
