Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu has warmly welcomed a decision by the US House of Representatives to approve more unilateral sanctions on Iran.Netanyahu on Thursday hailed the decision, saying it will send "a clear message to Tehran.
"Following the Iranian election, the [US] House of Representatives has sent a clear message to the Iranian regime that international pressure will increase until Iran meets its obligations and ceases its pursuit of a nuclear weapons capability. We will judge Iran by its actions alone," he said.
The US House of Representatives on Wednesday approved a bill to impose tougher sanctions against Irans oil exports and other economic sectors.
The bill, which must be approved by the Senate and signed by President Barack Obama to become law, seeks to cut Iran's oil exports by one million barrels per day over a year.
It also blacklists any business in Iran's automotive, mining and construction sectors and commits the United States to the goal of ending all Iranian oil sales worldwide by 2015.
Irans Foreign Ministry Spokesman Abbas Araqchi on Thursday expressed surprise at Washingtons perverseness in mounting restrictions on Tehran, underlining the futility of such bans and their failure to alter the Islamic Republics fundamental positions.
"The only impact that the imposition of sanctions will have is to further complicate the settlement of the existing issues, and will certainly offer no solution to any problem," Araqchi stated.
The US has imposed several rounds of illegal sanctions on Iran, which Washington claims to be aimed at pressuring Tehran to abandon its nuclear energy program.
The United States, Israel, and some of their allies have repeatedly accused Iran of potentially pursuing non-civilian objectives in its nuclear energy program.
Tehran has categorically rejected the accusation, arguing that as a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty and a committed member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), it is entitled to develop nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.
In addition, numerous inspections of Iran's nuclear facilities by the IAEA have never found any evidence showing that the Iranian nuclear energy program has been diverted toward non-civilian purposes.
By Press TV
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