Call for Stringent Monitoring of Commitment to JCPOA

Leader of Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei called on a committee entrusted with monitoring the implementation of the 2015 nuclear deal to be strict in its verifications and keep a watchful eye on the other parties to the pact.

The Leader made the call in a meeting with top brass and government executives on Monday, according to a transcript posted on his official website, as a new sanctions bill is to be put to a vote in the US Senate in the coming days.

The bill, called Iran Destabilizing Activities Act, would expand sanctions targeting Iran's ballistic missile development, transfer of weapons and alleged support for terrorism and human rights violations.

To become law, the measure would also have to pass the House of Representatives and be signed by President Donald Trump, who has taken a highly antagonistic line against Iran.

"In agreeing to the JCPOA, we set out clear conditions in writing that the JCPOA oversight committee [affiliated to the Supreme National Security Council] should ensure are fully met," Ayatollah Khamenei said, using the formal title of the agreement, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

The Leader was referring to his October 2015 letter to President Hassan Rouhani in which he conditionally endorsed the pact.

  Reciprocation    

The letter said imposing new sanctions on Iran during the implementation of the deal by any side will be a clear violation and government is bound to respond based on the Majlis legislation titled "Iranian Government's Reciprocal Action on Implementation of JCPOA", which was passed earlier that month.  

Since the January 2016 implementation of the deal, US lawmakers have introduced and adopted several anti-Iran measures, but the new US Senate bill is the first full-fledged package of anti-Iran sanctions.

The Leader said Iran needs to stand up to the impudence of the US, which has been exploiting "loopholes" in the deal that were created because of "putting trust in the words of US officials" to put more pressure on Iran.

"We were able not to trust our foes, but we did not hold our ground for reasons such as not giving the US excuses.  However, [we] could not [prevent them from] making excuses and we were hit," he said.

"When the enemy is so brazenly standing against you, he will construe any shortcoming by you as a sign of weakness and desperation and will grow more impudent; therefore, there must be complete vigilance."