Tehran, March 14 (IANS) Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei on Friday condemned fresh US sanctions targeting several individuals, vessels, and companies linked to Iran’s oil exports.
The ministry said the move comes a day after the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control designated Iran’s Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad as well as several companies and vessels tied to the “shadow fleet” used to circumvent sanctions.
Baghaei dismissed US claims of readiness to negotiate with Tehran, saying the sanctions prove Washington’s hostility toward Iran’s development and welfare.
He said Iran would hold the US government accountable for the fallout from what he described as unilateral and illegitimate measures, adding that the move violated international law.
Since taking office in January, US President Donald Trump has repeatedly called on Iran to negotiate over its nuclear programme while keeping in place sanctions reimposed after the US exited the 2015 nuclear deal in 2018.
In July 2015, Tehran signed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) with Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia, and the United States, agreeing to restrictions on its nuclear programme in return for sanctions relief.
After the US withdrawal and the reinstatement of sanctions in May 2018, Iran scaled back some of its nuclear commitments, and efforts to revive the deal have stalled, with Iranian officials insisting that negotiations cannot proceed under continued sanctions pressure.
Meanwhile, China, Russia and Iran issued a joint statement on Friday, reaffirming that political and diplomatic engagement and dialogue remains the only viable and practical option for the Iranian nuclear issue.
Relevant parties should abandon sanction, pressure or threat of force and refrain from any action that may escalate the situation, according to the statement issued after a trilateral meeting at the Vice Foreign Minister level in Beijing.
The three countries reiterated the importance of the Treaty on the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), the statement said.
China and Russia welcomed Iran’s reiteration that its nuclear programme is exclusively for peaceful purposes, and not for development of nuclear weapons, the statement read.
–IANS
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