Iranian MP: New Sanctions Proved US Untrustworthy

“By slapping our country with new sanctions, which run counter to the text of the nuclear deal between Iran and the (Group) 5+1, the US once again proved to be untrustworthy,” Chairman of the Iranian Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Alaeddin Boroujerdi said in a meeting with Finland’s Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja, in Tehran on Monday. The legislator’s comments came after the US Treasury Department on Friday imposed new sanctions on more than 25 Iranian individuals and companies, including shipping firms, oil companies, airlines and six Iranian banks. Boroujerdi further reaffirmed Iran’s commitment to push ahead with the negotiations with six world powers (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany) on its peaceful nuclear program. “Accordingly, the opposite sides are expected to seek to settle the issue through positive attitude and goodwill,” he noted. The visiting Finnish foreign minister, for his part, said the European countries are determined to lead the nuclear talks to an ultimate agreement which serves the interests of the both sides. Europe wants to promote its political, economic, social and cultural ties with the Islamic Republic following the removal of the anti-Iran sanctions, Tuomioja added. Iran and the Group 5+1 (alternatively known as P5+1 or E3+3) are in talks to reach a final agreement over Tehran’s nuclear energy program and the removal of unjustified sanctions against Iran. The two sides clinched a landmark interim deal in Geneva, Switzerland, on November 23, 2013. The agreement took effect on January 20 and expired six months later on July 20. In July, the two sides agreed on the extension of their discussions until November 24 in an effort to achieve a permanent nuclear deal to settle a decade-long standoff on Iran’s peaceful nuclear energy program.