Majlis Approves Bill in Response to US Sanctions

Iranian lawmakers overwhelmingly adopted a bill in retaliation for new US sanctions, formulating a comprehensive response to American support for terrorists and human rights violators, as well as acts endangering Iran's "vital" security and economic interests.

The details of the bill to "counter America's terrorist and adventurist actions" were passed 228-1 during an open session of the parliament on Sunday, IRNA reported.

After the Majlis passage, the measure needs the approval of Guardians Council to become law.

Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani described it as Iran's "first step" in hitting back at "bad promises by the bullying US".

"In addition to the bill, 16 other measures have been approved by the JCPOA Oversight Committee [affiliated to the Supreme National Security Council] that are to come into effect," Larijani said after the approval of the bill, using the short name for the formal title of the 2015 nuclear deal, the Joint Comprehensive Plan Of Action.

The bill gives the Foreign Ministry three months to prepare a black list of American officials and citizens who played a role in spreading terrorism in the region and assisted the breach of human rights.

Those included in the black list are subject to assets forfeiture and banned from traveling to Iran.

The proposal targets those involved in financing, training and equipping terrorist elements operating in the region, including members of the self-styled Islamic State and Al-Qaeda affiliated Jabhat al-Nusra terrorist groups, and those who support the terrorist Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization and Israeli state-sponsorship of terrorism.

The measure also targets Americans assisting the violation of rights of Muslims and black people, those who support acts of repressive governments in the Middle East and those behind US atrocities during its wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

***Decisive, Clever Response

Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi described the bill as a "decisive and clever" response to the US administration.

"We believe this is a very appropriate, smart and thoughtful response to maliciousness of the US and its hostility toward Iran," he said while speaking in the Majlis session.

Araqchi said the bill is designed carefully so that it does not violate the nuclear deal and provide excuses for the US to commit new violations of the deal.

"Iran's capability in responding to the US hostility has a broad range and is not limited to JCPOA," he said.

The bill allocates 10,000 billion rials ($262 million) to the General Staff of the Armed Forces for developing Iran's missile work and the same amount is to be equally divided among foreign, intelligence and defense ministries for carrying out tasks delegated by the bill, including a probe into US actions in the region.

Another 10,000 billion rials have been earmarked for the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps' Quds force, which is responsible for overseas operations, to increase its anti-terror operations in the region.

The measure also assigns Foreign Ministry and several other state bodies with the task of drawing up a comprehensive plan to counter US threats against Iran within six months.

The bill comes in response to legislation passed by the US Congress late last month and signed into law by US President Donald Trump on August 2 to impose sanctions over Iran's ballistic missile program and its alleged support for terrorism and human rights abuses.

Iran has denounced the US bill as a violation of the terms of the nuclear deal involving Iran and world powers, saying that it particularly runs counter to the agreement's articles calling on western powers to refrain from interfering in the normalization of Iran's economic ties and trying to limit benefits it is entitled to.