Fresh Anti-Tehran Moves Reinforce Distrust of US  

A lawmaker said the recent attempt by US lawmakers to push through a new anti-Iran sanctions law will further erode Iranians' trust in the US, which was stipulated under the July 2015 nuclear deal to make "best efforts in good faith" to avoid creating obstacles for Iran reaping the benefits of the removal of international sanctions.

Mohammad Ebrahim Rezaei made the statement in an interview with ICANA on Saturday, referring to Tuesday's introduction of the Iran Non-Nuclear Sanctions Act in the US Congress to impose strong financial and economic sanctions on Iran's non-nuclear activities, such as alleged human rights abuses, support for international terrorism and ballistic missile violations.

It was sponsored by US Republican Senators Marco Rubio, John Cornyn and Todd Young.  

"After years of unilateral concessions and flexibility by the previous administration, it's time for the United States to push back against Iran's support for terrorism, the regime's menacing ballistic missile activities and its egregious human rights violations," Rubio claimed in a press release on Tuesday.

The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (the formal name of the nuclear deal), whose complete implementation takes 10 years, passed its one-year anniversary on January 16.

US Republicans started tireless efforts to undermine the accord right after it came into effect, and since then have passed or introduced a string of anti-Iran measures aimed at limiting benefits Iran was entitled to under the deal.

Rezaei said the US enmity toward Iran has been a permanent characteristic of the US foreign policy since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, and the US administrations have spared no opportunity to damage Iran in past decades. The lawmaker said if the Non-Nuclear Sanctions Act is passed, it would constitute another breach of the July 2015 nuclear deal and prompt a strong Iranian response.

Donald Trump, the new US president who took office on January 20, has vowed on the campaign trail to scrap the nuclear pact, although he said at other times he would seek a better deal.

Reports have surfaced in recent months that his team is examining proposals for new anti-Iran sanctions that might not technically breach the nuclear deal.