US violated Geneva nuclear deal: Top Iranian MP

A senior Iranian legislator says the United States has violated the provisions of a nuclear deal struck between the Islamic Republic and the six major world powers in Geneva, calling for the acceleration of Tehran’s civilian nuclear activities.

“Undoubtedly, the latest US move to blacklist a number of Iranian companies and institutions is the flagrant violation of the Geneva nuclear accord, and the US officials revealed that they are not trustworthy,” Chairman of Iran’s Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Committee Alaeddin Boroujerdi said on Friday.

“The recent US action showed that this country, despite its claim of being a world superpower, is in practice a follower of Zionist lobbies and is incapable of acting independently concerning its affairs and policies,” Boroujerdi added.

He also stressed that the Iranian nation and Majlis will not compromise on Iran’s national interests and nuclear rights, calling on the Iranian nuclear negotiators to firmly defend the country’s national interests.

“Given the hostile approach of this country [the United States] and the violation of the Geneva agreement, one cannot be optimistic about the future of the nuclear talks. We should in fact take necessary measures to expedite our peaceful [nuclear] activities,” the Iranian lawmaker stated.

Earlier in the day, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham criticized the new US sanctions, calling them unconstructive. She also warned that Washington will be responsible for the consequences on the Geneva deal.

On Thursday, the administration of US President Barack Obama imposed the sanctions against more than a dozen companies and individuals for “providing support for” Iran’s nuclear energy program.

Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council — the US, China, Russia, France and Britain — plus Germany sealed an interim deal in Geneva on November 24 to pave the way for the full resolution of the West’s decade-old dispute with Iran over its nuclear energy program.

Under the Geneva deal, the six countries have undertaken to lift some of the existing sanctions against the Islamic Republic in exchange for Iran agreeing to limit certain aspects of its nuclear activities during six months. It was also agreed that no more sanctions would be imposed on Iran within the same period.