Iran to respond to any hostile bid against its interests: Velayati

A senior Iranian official has underlined the Islamic Republic’s determination to deliver a befitting response to any hostile measure against the country.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran will definitely show appropriate and befitting response to any measure against its interests,” IRNA quoted Ali Akbar Velayati, senior adviser to Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei on international affairs, as saying on Saturday.

The remarks came after US President Donald Trump announced his review of US policy on Iran on Friday, in which he said he would not certify Iran's nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), with the US, Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany.

Apart from his refusal to certify the JCPOA, Trump also warned that he might ultimately terminate the deal, in defiance of other world powers and undermining a landmark victory of multilateral diplomacy.

While Trump did not pull Washington out of the nuclear deal, he gave the US Congress 60 days to decide whether to reimpose economic sanctions against Tehran that were lifted under the pact. Reimposing sanctions would put the US at odds with other signatories to the accord and the European Union.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani slammed Trump’s speech against the Islamic Republic as nothing more than insults and delirious talk, urging the US president to brush up on his world history and geography to improve his understanding of international obligations and global ethics, etiquette and conventions.

The Western allies of the US, including the EU, as well as Russia criticized Trump’s speech and reaffirmed their commitment to the JCPOA.

Trump also announced sanctions on Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), which he accused of destabilizing the Middle East and threatening American interests in the region.

Velayati slammed Trump’s decision against the Iranian elite force, saying, “The Armed Forces, including the IRGC, belong to the people of this land and not only have they brought prowess and security for Islamic Iran, they have also managed to fight against secessionists and those who seek to undermine countries and legitimate governments in the region through resistance and they have wreaked havoc on terrorists, extremists and Takfiri currents as well as their supporters.”

In his Friday speech, Trump authored the US Treasury Department to impose further sanctions on the IRGC for what he claimed was “its support for terrorism.”  

The IRGC is a branch of the Iranian Armed Forces, a standing army of a United Nations member state. It has been effectively providing military advisory support to the elected governments of Iraq and Syria in their battles against various groups of extremist militants. Some of those militant groups receive logistical, financial, and other forms of support from the US government, particularly in Syria, where Washington has attempted but failed to have the Syrian government toppled.

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