(AhlulBayt News Agency) - Addressing a large and fervent congregation of the people, Ayatollah Khatami said, "We hope that President Obama who is going to decide this issue on Monday will be cautious not to step into the Zionists' trap and avoid endorsing this approval because signing the renewal of the sanctions against Iran will be a shame for the US."
He reiterated that the US Congress and Senate have approved the ISA against Iran and Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei has emphasized that this is certainly the violation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
The US Senate on December 1 approved a legislation extending Iran Sanctions Act for another ten years. The Act was to be expired at the end of 2016.
Ayatollah Khamenei warned late November that implementation of the extended Iran sanctions law for another 10 years would be equal to the violation of the nuclear agreement reached between Tehran and the six world powers (the US, China, France, Britain, Russia and Germany) in July 2015.
"There were a lot of debates over the sanctions in the nuclear talks, but now they raise the issue of extending the sanctions in the US Congress and claim that these are not sanctions but renewal (of earlier sanctions)," the Supreme Leader said in a meeting with a group of Iranian Navy commanders and officials in Tehran last Sunday on the occasion of the National Navy Day.
Ayatollah Khamenei pointed to the nuclear talks with the world powers, and said, "Initiating sanctions is no different from renewing them after their expiry date, as the latter is also (an instance of imposing) sanctions and a violation of the undertakings already taken up by the opposite side."
Also last month, the Supreme Leader vowed Iran's tough response to US President Barack Obama's renewal of the State of Emergency with respect to Iran.
"If this extension is implemented and comes into force, it will certainly be a violation of the nuclear deal and they should know that the Islamic Republic of Iran will certainly show reaction," Ayatollah Khamenei said, addressing a large gathering of Basij (volunteer) forces in Tehran.
Stressing that the nuclear deal shouldn’t turn into an instrument to pressure Iran and its people, he said, "In addition to breaking promises and defying its undertakings under the nuclear deal or leaving them incomplete, the US administration has turned the nuclear deal into a tool to pressure Iran again, and those (Iranian) officials engaged with the nuclear deal have explicitly confirmed this issue."
The Leader, meantime, underlined that the Islamic Republic of Iran doesn’t fear any power in the world, as it relies on the divine power and believes in the power of the people's presence and support.
His remarks came one day after the Iranian legislators in a statement deplored the US House of Representatives for extending the Iran sanctions law for another 10 years and banning the Treasury Department from granting license to sell commercial aircraft to the Islamic Republic, and called on the Tehran government to adopt reciprocal moves.
"We, the Iranian MPs, firmly support the remarks of the honorable parliament speaker this morning, and in addition to fully monitoring the behavior of the US senators and congress, urge the government to take reciprocal and serious measures on (the violation of) the nuclear deal according to the law (previously) approved by the parliament," said the statement, read by Akbar Ranjbarzadeh, a members of the parliament's presiding board.
"The parliament is fully ready to defend the Islamic Revolution's achievements in the civilian nuclear industry in Iran and national honor," it added.
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