A recent US congressional bill calling for broader sanctions on the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps would definitely face Iran's firm parliamentary and diplomatic responses, a lawmaker warned.
The measure was proposed on Thursday by Ed Royce and Eliot Engel, the top Republican and the top Democrat on the US House Foreign Affairs Committee respectively.
It would remove the 50% threshold for IRGC ownership that currently makes companies eligible for sanctions.
"The diplomatic apparatus and Majlis will definitely condemn these sanctions as a violation of the JCPOA and will take necessary measures in response to the bill," the spokesperson for Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, Hossein Naqavi Hosseini, told ISNA on Sunday.
JCPOA stands for the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the formal title of a deal brokered by Iran and the six power nations in 2015 to scale back Tehran's nuclear energy development in exchange for giving it relief from international sanctions.
Blatant Breach
Naqavi Hosseini said the legislation constitutes a "blatant" breach of international law and further "reflects the US aggressive approach".
"The draft bill is a new piece of a puzzle for the United States to wriggle out of its JCPOA commitments," the lawmaker added.
Its introduction came three days before the start of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee's annual policy conference in Washington, the Times of Israel reported.
Its sponsorship by two party leaders boosts its chance of passage. The measure will be featured on the AIPAC conference's legislative agenda as the pro-Israel lobby also wants to address US President Donald Trump's concerns with the Iran deal.
Like Trump, AIPAC wants easier access for inspectors to Iran's military bases, an extension or a lifting of "sunsets" for some of constraints on Tehran's nuclear program (currently between 10 and 15 years), and the expansion of the deal to roll back Iran's ballistic missile program.
But as opposed to the sanctions of the IRGC, there is pronounced partisan disagreement on anything that directly challenges the nature of the historic accord.
Democrats are wary of any moves they believe would ultimately scuttle the pact, brokered by the Obama administration, while some Republicans want to toughen the deal up and others want to nix it altogether.
Trump's administration has expressed concern that parts of the deal begin expiring in 2026 and that it fails to address Iran's missile program and its regional activities.
Trump has laid out several conditions that must be met for him to not abrogate the deal, including increased inspections, ensuring that "Iran never even comes close to possessing a nuclear weapon" and that there is no expiration date to the nuclear deal. Trump must sign the next sanctions waiver by May 12.
Tehran says its nuclear work is totally for peaceful purposes and has no military dimensions.
