Iran to carry on with missile program despite U.S. sanctions: spokesman

USA media said Washington would either pardon or drop charges against seven Iranians in exchange for the Americans.

“The U.S.is a seller of tens of billions dollars’ worth of advance weapons to countries in the region which are traditionally deployed in war crimes against civilians in Palestine, Lebanon and recently in Yemen”, the Foreign Ministry said in its statement.

The Obama administration had been under intense pressure from Republicans (and some Democrats) to impose a penalty for Iran’s two ballistic missile tests conducted in 2015.

The president pointed out that a priority will be given to countries that continued to trade with Iran despite the economic sanctions.

“The US sanctions against Iran’s ballistic missile programme… have no legal or moral legitimacy”, he said.

“We’re not going to waver in the defense of our security or that of our allies and partners”, Obama said.

In another development Sunday, Obama announced that the US and Iran had settled a long-standing financial dispute over $400 million in Iranian money that dates back more than three decades.

A day after numerous sanctions on Iran were lifted as part of the worldwide nuclear deal, the U.S. Treasury department imposed new sanctions over a recent ballistic missile test. The move, which affects 11 entities and individuals, was seen as a clear message from the White House that just because it had lifted the broadest sanctions, it was still keeping a close eye on what Tehran does.

Secretary of State John Kerry echoed the president’s praise for diplomacy on Saturday, when he announced the lifting of sanctions and said that Iran “honored” its obligations to the United Nations atomic watchdog.

What does lifting economic sanctions mean for Iran?

The Foreign Ministry concluded by saying that they would not negotiate with the USA on other issues, while sanctions introduced by the Washington, which Iran called “propaganda measures”, would be met with a firm response.

“Several Americans, unjustly detained by Iran, are finally coming home”.

“Even if a day comes when there is no NPT (Non-Proliferation Treaty), safeguard or inspection by the IAEA, Iran is morally and religiously committed not to seek weapons of mass destruction”, Rouhani said.

A senior Iranian official said four Americans freed under a prisoner swap deal were still in Iran and denied earlier reports suggesting they had already left the country.