Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 18
By Fatih Karimov - Trend:
Iranian Foreign Ministry slammed the new US sanctions against the Islamic Republic's missile system.
The Foreign Ministry released a message on its official website Jan. 18 saying, "selecting the very day, when the removal of unfair nuclear sanctions on Iran started, to announce the names of another group of individuals and companies for imposition of yet new sets of sanctions by the US Department of the Treasury because of their alleged involvement in Iran's defense program, is nothing but an attempt to please power circles and lobbies both inside and outside the US."
Iran and the P5+1 group (the US, the UK, France, China, Russia and Germany) implemented a Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA aka nuclear deal) on Jan. 16, which eliminated sanctions on the country, including the restrictions over banking sector, releasing blocked assets abroad, etc.
Previously, US Secretary of State John Kerry said that the US would pay Iran $400 million and also $1.3 billion in interest, dating back to the Islamic Revolution.
Iran's Foreign Ministry statement welcomed the US decision about releasing these funds.
The Department of the Treasury announced in a statement Jan. 17, only a day after sanctions targeting Iran's nuclear program were lifted, that 11 people and companies involved in Iran's ballistic missile program were added to sanctions list.
Earlier on October 11, Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) test-fired its first guided ballistic missile dubbed Emad.