TEHRAN — Tehran says it will never surrender to the United States’ maximum pressure policy, urging Washington to abandon its illegal measures.

“American authorities divide the sanctions into different categories, making it difficult for themselves only,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said on Wednesday.

“The Islamic Republic will not surrender because of such sanctions and pressures,” Mousavi added, according to Mehr.

The comments by the spokesman came as the congressional Republicans are about to unveil a sweeping piece of legislation outlining sanctions aimed at Iran, Russia, and China, Washington Free Beacon reported Monday.

According to the magazine, what promises to be “the largest package of Iran sanctions in history” is set to be revealed on Wednesday. The backers of this plan hope to receive some Democratic support both in the Senate and in the House of Representatives, where they do not hold a majority.

Mousavi urged the U.S. to abandon its unilateral, illegal actions and instead abide by international laws and regulations.

The world should wake up and stand against extra-territorial measures of the United States, he emphasized. 

The Iranian presidential chief of staff said on Tuesday that Republicans in the United States must counter racism and injustice in their own country instead of preparing sanctions plan against Iran.

“The United States’ Republicans must think about preparing a plan to erase structural injustice and racism in the United States and establish peace and security for the people of this country instead of preparing sanction plan against the Iranian nation,” Mahmoud Vaezi tweeted.

In May 2018, U.S. President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal and re-imposed illegal sanctions on Iran. Bowing to U.S. pressure, the European trio — Britain, Germany, and France which are signatory to the nuclear deal — has failed to protect Tehran’s business interests under the JCPOA against the American bans.

Meanwhile, Russia’s permanent representative to the Vienna-based international organizations has said that Washington’s maximum pressure policy on Iran has increased tensions in the Persian Gulf and caused reduced commitments of Tehran under the Iran nuclear deal.

“U.S. claims that its maximum pressure policy on Iran is effective,” Mikhail Ulyanov tweeted on Monday. “Yes, results are very clear: increased tension in the P.Gulf, suffering of people in #Iran, reduced commitments of Tehran under #JCPOA, weakened non- proliferation regime.”

He added, “But is there anything positive? No answer.”

On May 8, 2019, Iran started to remove curbs on its nuclear program exactly one year after the U.S. abandoned the nuclear deal and imposed the harshest sanctions in history against Iran in line with the Trump administration’s “maximum pressure” campaign on Tehran. 

From the very beginning that Iran started to remove ban on its nuclear program, officials in Tehran announced if the European Union, especially its big trio (Germany, France, and Britain which are signatory the deal), takes steps to compensate the sanctions' effect it will immediately reverse its decision.

MH/PA