News / Interviews

US must take Iran’s warning on JCPOA seriously: Pundit

Wednesday, 23 November 2016 2:11 PM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 23 November 2016 2:13 PM ]

Ayatollah Khamenei gestures during a speech to a group of volunteer Basij forces in Tehran, Nov. 23, 2016.

Leader of Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has warned the United States about the consequences of renewing the Iran Sanctions Act (ISA). Ayatollah Khamenei has said that Iran will definitely react to violation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) - the nuclear agreement between the Islamic Republic and the P5+1 group, including the US, Britain, France, Russia, and China plus Germany.

Mohammad Marandi, professor at the University of Tehran, told Press TV’s Top 5 that the US authorities should pay attention to Iran’s warning that America would pay the price if Washington continues to violate the JCPOA.

Marandi noted, “If the United States passes this sanctions regime or its extension, then obviously Iran will have to react in kind.”

According to the academic, “The concern in Iran is that if the United States is allowed to continue to act with impunity, the agreement will ultimately become meaningless.”

“Obviously, this warning is a serious warning that the United States has to take into consideration and to take seriously,” he said, adding, “The United States has on numerous occasions and repeatedly violated the agreement already.”

“Not only the United States confiscated two billion dollars of Iranian money and ... added ... people and entities to the sanctions regime, but it has also passed a law by the president that creates visa restrictions among other limitations,” Marandi said.

He also touched upon stance of the next US administration toward the JCPOA, noting that “the expectation in Iran is of course that [US president-elect Donald] Trump will probably not be any better than [President Barack] Obama.”

The US House of Representatives voted for a 10-year extension of the Iran Sanctions Act (ISA) earlier this month, but to become law, the bill has to be endorsed by the Senate as well and be signed by the US president.

Last week, the US House also passed a bill that would block the sale of commercial aircraft by Boeing and Airbus to Iran, with the Obama administration admitting that the legislation would be a violation of the nuclear pact.

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