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Signs of Confrontation Between Iran, West | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani attends a news conference in Ankara June 9, 2014. REUTERS/Umit Bektas


London – New signs of confrontations between Iran and the West loomed after Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani ordered his Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and director of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization Ali Akbar Salehi to take unilateral measures facing the U.S. decision to extend sanctions against Tehran, by preparing a plan for nuclear-powered ships and producing fuel for them.

Rouhani justified his two separate orders by saying “the measures were necessary in light of the U.S. foot-dragging in fulfilling its commitments under the multilateral nuclear deal… and the recent ratification of anti-Iran legislation in the U.S. Congress,” an Iranian news agency reported on Tuesday.

“The United States has not fully delivered its commitments in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (the nuclear deal),” Rouhani wrote in a letter published by state news agency IRNA.

The Iranian president asked his foreign minister to examine the steps envisaged in JCPOA.

He gave Zarif a month to address the violations and to implement other international legal proceedings using the reports issued by the Supreme National Security Council and JCPOA Supervisory Committee.

In a separate order, Rouhani asked Salehi to plan for the design and development of nuclear propulsion for use in the field of maritime transportation, in collaboration with scientific and research centers.

He also ordered Salehi the production of nuclear fuel to be used in the nuclear-powered ships.

Rouhani’s orders came after the U.S. Congress voted in majority to the extension of the Iran Sanctions Act (ISA) against Iran for 10 years. The U.S. vote drove anger in Tehran, which says ISA violates the nuclear deal, while Iranian high-ranking officials have threatened to take escalatory measures.

The sanctions act awaits President Barack Obama’s signature to become law. A spokesperson at the White House said Obama does not plan to use his veto against the extension of the sanctions.

In response to Rouhani’s decree and using a diplomatic tone, Zarif told the mouthpiece website of Iran’s Parliament that he would present a letter to the committee supervising the implementation of the nuclear deal to inform it about Rouhani’s decisions.