Iran-US tensions flare over sanctions threat – New sanctions could jeopardize

The Obama White House was said to be preparing financial sanctions against the Islamic Republic of Iran, when suddenly, on New Year’s Eve, the Administration announced they would delay the sanctions against Tehran’s ballistic missile program.

“We are considering various aspects related to additional designations, as well as evolving diplomatic work that is consistent with our national security interests”.

The Wall Street Journal said Thursday the White House has delayed plans to slap new sanctions on Iran over its ballistic missile program, amid fears it could jeopordize a hard-worn nuclear deal with Tehran.

“As the USA government is clearly still pursuing its hostile policies and illegal meddling … the armed forces need to quickly and significantly increase their missile capability”, Rouhani wrote in a letter to Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan, published by the state news agency, IRNA.

A UN experts’ report in December said that Iran violated UN Security Council Resolution 1929 by test-firing the Emad missile which is capable of delivering a nuclear warhead.

The Defense Ministry is obliged to expand the missile capabilities of Iran, in case the United States insists on its “false and interfering measures”, Rouhani said.

Rezaei stressed that once the country’s missile defense reaches the range of 5,000 km, it could pose a threat to Diego Garcia island, which served as the USA air base in the attack on Iran in Tabas incident.

Board members of the United Nations nuclear agency adopted a resolution to close the investigation into whether Tehran once had a nuclear weapons program, upon a review of Iran’s implementation of its commitments.

“I would expect the Iranians to complete the work necessary to move forward with implementation in the coming weeks”, Rhodes told reporters in Hawaii, where President Barack Obama is on vacation.

Araqchi said President Rouhani’s letter indicated that Iran’s missile program is not negotiable.

“The security and peace of the Gulf is of serious strategic importance to Iran”.

USA officials have said the Treasury Department retains a right under the nuclear deal to blacklist Iranian entities suspected of involvement in missile development.

REUTERS/Brendan SmialowskiU.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (L), U.S. Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz (2nd L), Head of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organisation Ali Akbar Salehi (2nd R) and Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif (R) wait with others ahead of a meeting at the Beau Rivage Palace Hotel in Lausanne on March 26, 2015. As part of the deal, the USA committed to unfreezing as much as $100 billion in Iranian oil money frozen in overseas accounts.