Tehran, Iran, Dec. 31
By Milad Fashtami - Trend:
Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham condemned new US sanctions against Tehran.
"The new sanctions violate Washington's commitments under the Geneva deal," Afkham said, Iran's IRNA News Agency reported on Dec. 31.
"The decision is politically motivated," she said, noting that sanctions are an unconstructive tool which could have destructive effects.
"The new sanctions contradict the principle of good will and put Washington's intentions under question," she added.
The United Sates has agreed not to impose new sanctions on Iran, while nuclear negotiations between Iran and the P5+1 group of countries is underway.
However, the US officials announced sanctions on nine new targets on Dec. 30, , saying the entities and people targeted had supported Iran's efforts to avoid sanctions and backed the government's human rights abuses, including censorship.
According to Reuters, the newly named targets include five people and one entity for their role in helping the Iranian government buy or acquire U.S.
The next round of nuclear talks between Iran and the P5+1 group of countries is scheduled for January 15 in Geneva.
Iran and P5+1 (the five permanent members of the UN Security Council comprising of China, France, Russia, Britain, the US Plus Germany) sealed an interim deal in Geneva on November 24,2013 to pave the way for the full resolution of the West's decade-old dispute with Iran over the country's nuclear energy program.
The Geneva deal took effect on January 20 and expired on July 20.
However the two sides agreed to extend their talks for four months till Nov. 24 to reach a permanent deal on Iran's disputed nuclear program.
At a meeting held on November 24, 2014, the sides agreed to extend the talks for further seven months.