Iran Says New US Sanctions Have ‘No Legal or Moral Legitimacy’

Many local Iranian-Americans who gathered in Westwood said they were encouraged by the deal.

“They never gave in and they never gave up”, Obama said of the Americans, some of whom reportedly experienced torture in years-long detentions.

In a rare Sunday address, President Obama hailed implementation of the Iran nuclear deal and said it paved the way for the release of other diplomatic breakthroughs, including the release of several Americans held prisoner in Iran and a longstanding dispute between the two countries in worldwide court.

The announcement of the new sanctions came hours after three Americans detained by Iran – including the Washington Post’s Jason Rezaian – boarded a Swiss plane departing Tehran.

A USA official said the Obama administration wanted to test whether there could be additional cooperation or constructive dialogue between the United States and Iran.

Lifting the sanctions would unfreeze a huge amount of assets, around tens of billions of United States dollars, and allow Iranian oil to be sold internationally.

United Nations experts said in a report in December that the missile test violated sanctions banning Iran from launches capable of delivering nuclear weapons.

The newest US sanctions imposed on Iranian companies and individuals connected to the country’s ballistic missile program are illegitimate, Iran’s Foreign Ministry said Monday.

The U.N. atomic agency announced Saturday that Iran has met all of its obligations under a landmark nuclear deal with six world powers.

Will the US also release Iranians in custody?

Sanctions were imposed against five Iranian nationals and a network of companies based in the United Arab Emirates and China, the U.S. Treasury Department announced in a statement.

“Iran’s implementation of the nuclear-related measures…, as verified by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), marks a fundamental shift in circumstances with respect to Iran’s nuclear program”, Obama said in the executive order issued by the White House. “We are going to remain vigilant about it”.

“We’ve now closed off every single path Iran had to building a (nuclear) bomb”, he said.