Skip to main content

Iran responds to US with 'reciprocal sanctions'

In response to new US sanctions on Iran’s ballistic missile program, Tehran sanctioned US firms that supply the Israeli government with arms and other equipment to support the settlement enterprise.
A staff member removes the Iranian flag from the stage during the Iran nuclear talks in Vienna, Austria July 14, 2015. Carlos Barria: For more than a decade the United States and other world powers have participated in talks to reach an agreement on Iranís nuclear program. They and Iran have spent thousands of hours around a table seeking a solution to what the West sees as a threat to global stability if Iran gains the capability to make a nuclear bomb. The last chapter was in Vienna, where I travelled wit

On the heels of the United States announcing new sanctions against companies and individuals transferring technology for Iran’s ballistic missile program, Iran responded with its own sanctions regime on US military companies involved in supporting Israeli settlements. In a March 26 statement, the Iranian Foreign Ministry announced sanctions on “companies directly or indirectly participating in brutal Israeli crimes in occupied Palestine or that have backed terrorism by [Israel] or have violated United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334 regarding the expansion of illegal settlements in occupied Palestine.”

The ministry's statement said that the new US sanctions on Iranian individuals and companies were “against international law and contradictory to the text and spirit of the comprehensive nuclear agreement.” On March 24, the US State Department had announced that the Iran-related sanctions included 11 companies in China, North Korea and the United Arab Emirates that were working with Iran’s ballistic missile program. The Iranian Foreign Ministry statement said that Iran has a “legal right to defense” in pursuing its missile program, particularly against any foreign intervention on its territory.

Access the Middle East news and analysis you can trust

Join our community of Middle East readers to experience all of Al-Monitor, including 24/7 news, analyses, memos, reports and newsletters.

Subscribe

Only $100 per year.