US Admonished for ISA Extension: Iran


US Admonished for ISA Extension: Iran

TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has in contacts with his US counterpart admonished the US for extending the Iran Sanctions Act (ISA), Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi said.

Following the US extension of the ISA for another ten years, Foreign Minister Zarif has had contacts with US Secretary of State John Kerry, and has given the necessary notices, Qassemi said at a weekly press conference in Tehran on Monday.

Earlier in December, the US Senate voted 99-0 to extend the ISA for another decade. The bill was passed by the House of Representatives nearly unanimously in November. The renewal of ISA took effect on December 15 with a procedural protest from President Barack Obama, who decided to let the legislation become law without his signature.

Iran described the measure as a flagrant violation of the JCPOA, the nuclear agreement with the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany) that took effect in January.

Elsewhere in the press conference, Qassemi said the JCPOA joint commission -a group tasked with monitoring commitments to the deal- will convene a session at the level of deputy ministers, but noted that no American representative is expected to attend the meeting.

On Saturday, Iran’s foreign minister formally called for a session of the JCPOA joint commission to address the US government’s violation of the accord.

Zarif made the request in a letter to EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini, who is also the coordinator of the JCPOA joint commission.

The letter came after Iranian President Hassan Rouhani called on the Foreign Ministry and the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) to initiate processes to react to the US government’s violation of the JCPOA.

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