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 The United States on Thursday black-listed additional companies
and people under sanctions aimed at preventing Iran from obtaining
the capability to make nuclear weapons, U.S. officials said. Iran
says its program is purely peaceful.
"We are evaluating the situation and Iran will react accordingly to
the new sanctions imposed on 19 companies and individuals. It is
against the spirit of the Geneva deal," deputy Foreign Minister
Abbas Araghchi told the semi-official Fars news agency on Friday.
Araghchi, who is also a member of Iran's nuclear negotiating team,
was referring to a November 24 interim agreement with six world
powers under which Tehran would curb its nuclear program in exchange
for limited relief from economic sanctions over the next six months.
In Vienna earlier on Friday, the European Union said that Iran and
six world powers needed more time to work out complex technical
steps to implement last month's deal after four days of expert-level
talks.
It was not clear if Araghchi's remarks were related to the need for
more time.
The U.S. Treasury and State Department said the blacklistings showed
the Geneva deal "does not, and will not, interfere with our
continued efforts to expose and disrupt those supporting Iran's
nuclear program or seeking to evade our sanctions."
Some U.S. lawmakers want further sanctions on the Islamic state.
President Barack Obama's campaign to hold off on new sanctions over
Iran's nuclear program won a key endorsement on Thursday when the
chairman of the U.S. Senate Banking Committee rejected tightening
measures against Iran now.
Iran has repeatedly said it will not be pressured, warning that new
sanctions "could kill the deal".
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The new measure, the first such enforcement action since the first
step agreement was reached in Geneva, targeted entities that are
suspected of involvement in the proliferation of materials for
weapons of mass destruction and have tried to evade the current
sanctions.
Administration officials said Thursday's targets include companies
and individuals engaged in transactions on behalf of other companies
that the United States has also previously designated under the
sanctions. They include Mid Oil Asia, Singa Tankers, Siqiriya
Maritime, Ferland Company Limited and Vitaly Sokolenko.
The U.S. also named five Iranian entities it said are directly
engaged in actions contributing to Iran's ability to enrich uranium.
Several other entities related to Iran's ballistic missile program
were also targeted.
The powers who negotiated the interim deal on Iran's nuclear program — Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States — are continuing negotiations with a goal of reaching a comprehensive
final deal in six months.
(Writing by Parisa Hafezi; editing by Alister Doyle)
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