On July 25, the US House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a package of sanctions against Iran, Russia and North Korea. The sanctions specifically target the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Iran’s ballistic missile program.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani reacted to the move July 26 in a statement during a Cabinet meeting. “Such sanctions do not affect the Iranian nation and neither decreases the people and the Islamic Republic of Iran's resistance, nor will [they] change our policies and path,” he said.

“The bill that the House of Representatives has passed will be forwarded to the Senate, and you will see that the sanctions against Iran are different from sanctions against North Korea or Russia,” Rouhani noted. “Iran's sanctions are in fact the repetition of past sanctions, and this indicates that the tool of sanctions has been very slow compared to previous years.”

Rouhani also stated, “The parliament will take its steps, and we will take any steps that we believe [are] necessary for strengthening our country without paying attention to their [US] sanctions and policies.”