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14 December 2013 - 10:47

Iran Foreign Ministry slams the new US sanctions targeting the Islamic Republic as not constructive, saying that the US administration is responsible for these indiscreet moves.

“Unfortunately, we are witnessing serious confusion in the approach, decisions and remarks of American officials, and the US administration is fully responsible for the consequences of these indiscreet measures,” Iran Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham said.

Afkham said the US Treasury Department’s “unconstructive, repetitive and useless” measure is in contrast with the US officials’ efforts to dissuade the American legislative bodies from adopting new sanctions against Iran in line with the recent nuclear deal between Tehran and the six world powers.

She was referring to the deal inked between Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council -- Russia, China, France, Britain and the US -- plus Germany in the Swiss city of Geneva on November 24 in a bid to set the stage for the full resolution of the West’s decade-old dispute with Iran over the country’s nuclear energy program.

Afkham said a group of people inside and outside the US administration are trying to kill the Geneva deal.

Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi also slammed the new US sanctions targeting Iran, saying the bans run counter to the spirit of the recent nuclear deal reached between Tehran and six major world powers.

“This US move is against the spirit of the Geneva deal,” Araqchi said.

“We are assessing the current situation,” the senior member of Iran’s nuclear negotiating team added.

The Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister also said Washington’s bellicose rhetoric and talk of military option against Iran will jeopardize the next round of talks with six major world powers over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear energy program.

“The US’s harsh statements will create problems for the process of negotiations in the next round,” Abbas Araqchi said.

“Harsh and extreme remarks such as ‘the military option against Iran being on the table’ is not constructive,” the Iranian nuclear negotiator added.

The official noted that the recent nuclear deal reached between Iran and the six powers does not mean that all differences between Tehran and the West have been resolved.

“We have differences of opinion with the US on many issues,” Araqchi stated.

“We have not entered the next round of talks and the implementation of phase one of the negotiations yet, but there is a possibility that one of the P5+1 sides, particularly the US, would make provocative remarks which run counter to the spirit of understanding and cooperation,” Araqchi stated.
 

News ID 185816