The Republican-controlled U.S. Senate is considering a 10-year extension of the Iran Sanctions Act (ISAA). The bill, passed earlier this month by the GOP-controlled House of Representatives, must pass both houses before going to President Barack Obama.
Moreover, the bill expires at the end of this year, unless Obama signs a renewal into law.
Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei declared at a meeting of Iranian Navy commanders and officials in Tehran on Sunday, (Nov. 27), however, that Iran considers that renewal a violation of the JCPOA — the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world leaders.
“During the [nuclear] negotiations there was a lot of debate about the sanctions, but now they raise the issue of extending the sanctions in the U.S. Congress and claim these are not [new] sanctions but renewal [of old ones],” the Ayatollah said, Iran’s Press TV reported.
Speaking on National Navy Day, Khamenei said, “Launching sanctions is no different from ‘renewing them after their expiration,’ and the latter is also [an instance of imposing] sanctions and violation of the previous commitments by the opposite site.” He added that the powerful presence of the Iranian Navy in the high seas will boost Iran’s might and defense capabilities, and said that presence must be increased.
He also told members of the volunteer ‘Basij’ forces in Tehran last Wednesday that Iran would respond if the legislation was renewed.
“If these sanctions are extended, it will surely constitute a violation of the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) and [U.S. officials] must know that the Islamic Republic will definitely react to it,” the Ayatollah said.
Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari said the Navy has safeguarded national interests through its “powerful and continuous” presence in the high seas, far beyond regional waters.
In recent years, Iran’s Navy has increased its presence in international waters to protect naval routes and provide security for merchant vessels and tankers, Press TV reported.
Iran is continuing to ship arms to its Middle Eastern proxy in Lebanon — the Hezbollah terrorist organization — and Iranian weapons have also been used against Israel by the Hamas terrorist rulers of Gaza as well. In addition to Hezbollah guerrillas, Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guard Corps fighters are also bolstering the government troops defending Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.