President Rouhani : Iran No Longer Under Sanctions
January 18 / Yamanyoon
Sanctions against Iran are almost removed, but the country should be prepared for different situations, said President Hassan Rouhani.
‘Except for some banking problems, the Islamic Republic of Iran faces no international sanctions and the problems are mostly related to other issues,’ President Rouhani stated at a news conference on Tuesday on the one-year anniversary of implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
The JCPOA was agreed between Iran and the G5+1 (The US, the UK, Russia, China, France and Germany) in July 2015. It was later implemented on January 16, 2016.
‘Today we are free to have business with any country we like,’ he confirmed.
‘We no longer face sanctions,’ the President said, but he remained critical of the United States for showing disloyalty towards its commitments. ‘But the Americans have been disloyal,’ Rouhani said.
‘To us, extension of the Iran Sanctions Act (ISA) amounts to violation of the nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action,’ he continued.
The US president refrained from signing the Act, still he fell short of doing his job, the Iranian President said.
‘The US president should have vetoed the Act but he just waived it,’ Rouhani said.
‘Had Americans not waived the ISA, we would not have sit idle and would have taken actions against their violation,’ Rouhani said.
‘I have ordered the foreign minister and head of Atomic Energy Organization of Iran to take appropriate steps (regarding the extension of the ISA), lest we may face more disloyalties in the future,’ Rouhani said.
President Rouhani also, referring to comments by US president-elect Donald Trump on the nuclear deal, said the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action cannot be violated by the president of any country.
‘The JCPOA is not something that someone in another country, following his election as president, decides whether he likes or dislikes it,’ he said.
‘The JCPOA has created a new global environment and it should be taken care of with prudence,’ he said.
