Cruz, Rubio Say Iran Prisoner Swap a ‘Dangerous Precedent’

Under the new sanctions, the U.S. treasury has included 11 Iranian companies and 5 individuals on a black list due to their involvement in the ballistic missile programme and the purchase of components for these missiles.

The nuclear deal saw an end to years of painful economic sanctions on Iran but Washington on Sunday announced new financial measures against Tehran’s ballistic missile programme.

The U.S. move was “devoid of any legal or ethical legitimacy”, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement reported by the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency.

State TV quoted Valiollah Seif as saying Iran has transferred assets from banks in Japan and South Korea to other banks in Germany and the United Arab Emirates.

Iran’s missiles are not designed in any way to carry nuclear warheads and therefore the country’s missile program does not contravene any worldwide regulations, the statement went on to say.

About the recent release of five USA prisoners, who were according to him “unjustly detained by Iran”, the president noted that he had promised their families to bring them home.

Under July’s deal, Iran’s nuclear activities will be severely constrained and remain under strict oversight for the next decade, but Tehran will then be able to scale up its production of nuclear fuel. The released Americans, plus a fifth US citizen released earlier, were part of a prisoner exchange negotiated in a separate side deal to the nuclear agreement.

The three arrived on a flight at Ramstein Air Base and were scheduled to undergo medical checkups at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, a US military hospital.

These obligations included Iran dramatically downscaling its nuclear programme, including slashing by two-thirds the number of centrifuges, which can make uranium suitable for nuclear power but also for a nuclear bomb.

The men allegedly had been involved in exporting products and services to Iran in violation of trade sanctions against the country.

To support the steady implementation, the Japanese government will send nuclear energy experts to Iran, officials said.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel would continue to closely monitor Iran’s compliance, development of ballistic missiles and its involvement in terrorism.