New sanctions make it difficult to reach nuclear agreement

ˈThe Islamic Iran will respond to this act if itˈs deemed necessary,ˈ Zarif said in a meeting here with his visiting counterpart from Finland Erkki Tuomioja.

Tuomioja arrived here Saturday night to discuss issues of mutual interests with senior Iranian officials.

US new anti-Iran act, Zarif added, ˈis against the spirit of the Geneva deal as well as US agreements.ˈ

The white House on Friday declared new sanctions on a group of individuals and firms for what it claimed to be helping Iran overpass the sanctions or contacts with the firms, institutes and individuals who have earlier been sanctioned.

The move was condemned by senior Iranian officials and termed a ˈbreachˈ to the previously made Joint Plan of Action signed by Iran and the Group 5+1 in Geneva, Austria, on November 2013.

Speaking in his latest press conference on Saturday, President Hassan Rouhani said US new sanctions ˈwill not harm the principle of the talks but endangered one of its bases -- honesty and confidence.ˈ

He also said that the move put US goodwill under questiion.

President Rouhani added he doubted goodwill of the US administration compared to other members of the Group 5+1 about the fate of the nuclear talks.

In another development, Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Marziyeh Afkham said yesterday that the US anti-Iran move ran counter to the Geneva accord and contradicted current peaceful trend of talks which aimed at resolving dispute over Iranˈs nuclear program.
/SR