Iran MPs call for counter-measures against US Senate vote

Rasa - Iranian lawmakers have condemned a US Senate vote to extend the Iran Sanctions Act (ISA), urging the administration of President Hassan Rouhani to adopt proper counter-measures.

News ID: 425515

Date: 04 December 2016 - 17:19

RNA - At the end of an open session on Sunday, 264 MPs in the 290-seat Iranian Parliament (Majlis) issued a statement, strongly demanding the executive branch to take “due retaliatory measures” against the US senators’ decision to extend the ISA “at the soonest possible time.”

The statement came three days after the US Senate voted to extend the ISA for another 10 years, in a move regarded as a blatant violation of last year’s nuclear agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

“In a theatrical move, US senators extended the unjust ISA law and the sanctions against the great Iranian nation,” the statement read, adding that such an act “is against the spirit of the JCPOA, while international officials and US authorities have repeatedly confirmed Iran’s compliance.”

The lawmakers further condemned the US Senate vote as a sign of Washington’s “irresponsibility in honoring its international obligations.”

On December 1, the US Senate passed the ISA renewal 99-0 after it cleared the House of Representatives 419-1 late November.

The sanctions law was first adopted in 1996 to punish investments in the Islamic Republic over its nuclear program.

US President Barack Obama is expected to sign the ISA into law.

In a speech at the parliament earlier in the day, Rouhani pledged a “decisive response” to the Senate vote, which he called a blatant violation of the nuclear deal.

The Iranian chief executive had said Saturday that no country is allowed to take measures undermining the JCPOA, which is the product of diplomatic efforts by seven countries.

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