US bans to bring N-talks to stalemate: Iran MP

The US move to impose new sanctions on Iranian individuals and firms will leave negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear energy program in a gridlock, a senior Iranian lawmaker says.

“The negotiations with the West over Iran’s nuclear energy program will fail to achieve a result given the US excessive demands,” spokesman for the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee of Iran’s Majlis Hossein Naqavi Hosseini said on Saturday.

“The Americans have always pursued a policy of double standards and violation of [their] commitments in the nuclear talks. Such a trend will definitely bring the negotiations to a standstill” he said.

“So, the Islamic Republic of Iran should warn the P5+1 that if the Americans refuse to give up such acts and to lift the sanctions, that would mean the negotiating side has no goodwill,” he added.

The Iranian legislator emphasized that the US is the main obstacle in the way of an agreement on Tehran’s nuclear energy program adding the new US sanctions on Iran showed that Washington is not interested in a final nuclear agreement at all and it is just wasting time.

The US on Friday imposed new sanctions on more than 25 Iranian individuals and companies, including shipping firms, oil companies, airlines and six Iranian banks.

The new sanctions come as Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council – Russia, China, France, Britain and the US — plus Germany are in talks to reach a final agreement aimed at resolving the standoff over Tehran’s civilian nuclear work.

The two sides signed a historic interim deal in Geneva last November. The agreement entered into force on January 20 and expired six months later. In July, Tehran and the six states agreed to extend their discussions until November 24 in a bid to work out a final accord.

The new US sanctions violate the terms of the Geneva deal.