Protests in Iran Against New US Sanctions: 'Against the Spirit and Letter of the JCPOA'

Simultaneously with the statements of Iranian parliament representatives about drafting a 'countermeasure plan' against the US Senate's new sanctions package against the Islamic Republic, a member of the JCPOA oversight committee stated that this committee will provide a 'suitable response' to this 'violation of the JCPOA.' Ali Akbar Velayati, international advisor to the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, also described the US Senate's resolution as 'against the spirit and letter of the JCPOA' in an interview with IRIB news agency. The JCPOA oversight committee member emphasized that this committee will 'examine this issue and provide a suitable response to the US sanctions.' Mr. Velayati also stated that the US intends to cover up its 'successive defeats in Iraq and Syria against the Islamic Republic' by passing these sanctions. According to reports, Ali Larijani, Speaker of the Parliament, Mohammad Javad Zarif, Foreign Minister, Hossein Dehghan, Minister of Defense, Ali Shamkhani, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, Ali Akbar Salehi, Head of the Atomic Energy Organization, Saeed Jalili, representative of the Supreme Leader in the Supreme National Security Council, and Ali Akbar Velayati, advisor to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, are members of the JCPOA oversight committee. Hassan Rouhani is the head of the committee and Ali Shamkhani is its secretary. The US Senate voted overwhelmingly on Thursday, June 15, in favor of a new sanctions package against the Islamic Republic of Iran, known as the 'Countering Iran's Destabilizing Activities Act.' This bill imposes mandatory sanctions on any individual and entity associated with Iran's ballistic missile program, as well as commercial parties involved with this program. After Senate approval, this bill will now be presented to the House of Representatives for a vote. If passed by the House, it will become law with the signature of Donald Trump, the President of the United States. Ali Larijani, the Speaker of the Parliament, had requested on Sunday, June 11, that the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of the Parliament expedite the presentation of the 'countermeasure plan' against the US Senate's sanctions package. Meanwhile, Hossein Naqavi Hosseini, spokesman for the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, announced that the draft of this plan has been prepared and will be presented as an urgent matter in the open session of Parliament after the recess. He stated that the Research Center of the Parliament utilized the government's opinions in preparing this plan. Mr. Naqavi Hosseini considered the new US sanctions against Iran to be 'in conflict' with the Vienna nuclear agreement and stated that this plan is the 'mother law for sanctions.' He emphasized that if finally approved, this plan would give the US President the authority to impose further sanctions against the Islamic Republic through executive orders. Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's Foreign Minister, also described the US Senate's action to draft new sanctions against Iran as 'short-sighted,' and Abbas Araghchi, head of the JCPOA implementation follow-up committee, stated that Iran assesses the implementation of the new US sanctions as a violation of the JCPOA.