Iran condemns US sanctions on Supreme leader Khamenei's inner circle

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Seyyed Abbas Mousavi has condemned the fresh US sanctions against nine people connected to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on the 40th anniversary of the US embassy seizure.

The United States has imposed new sanctions on the inner circle of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, including one of his sons. The US Treasury Department said among the nine people sanctioned were also Khamenei's chief of staff, the head of the judiciary and senior military figures. It said it also blacklisted Iran's Armed Forces General Staff.

The spokesperson further criticized a statement released by Washington on November 4 on the anniversary of US embassy seizure, terming it as a distortion of reality and flagrant.

"The US regime's addiction to unilateral sanctions has put its authorities in a passive situation that makes them resort to such empty sanctions in a bid to alleviate their pains and depression that has been caused by their inaction towards the iron-like will of the Iranian nation," said Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Abbas Mousavi, as quoted by IRNA.

Moreover, President Hassan Rouhani announced that the country would take the fourth step to scale back Iran's obligations under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

"As we repeatedly announced earlier, such measures only reveal the regime's desperation and inability to use diplomatic or logical solutions, which can be evaluated within the framework of the United States' bullying approach toward other countries and important international and global issues," he added.

On Monday, Iranian government spokesperson Ali Rabiei had stated that President Hassan Rouhani will announce steps to reduce the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) commitments within two days.

JCPOA is also referred to as the US-Iran Nuclear Deal, was clinched in 2015 by Iran, USA, Russia, France, China, UK, Germany, and the European Union.

Rabiei also said out that Tehran did not want to withdraw from the nuclear deal but "US' bullying policy and European lack of resistance" is prompting them to pull out of the deal.

It may be noted that Britain and Iran, along with Germany, Russia, France, the European Union, and China are the remaining signatories of the 2015 nuclear deal. The Trump-led US government withdrew from the deal last year, terming it as defective at its core.