Basij commander downplays impact of return of UN sanctions on Iran

An Iranian lawmaker said Tehran carried out a successful security test of an intercontinental missile on Thursday night.

“Two nights ago, we tested one of the country’s most advanced missiles, which had not been tested until now, and it was successful. I want to say that even under these circumstances, we are conducting a security test of an intercontinental missile,” Mohsen Zanganeh, a member of the Iranian parliament, told state broadcaster IRIB.

“Until now, our diplomatic team had resisted. We should not turn our strengths into weaknesses,” he added.

Zanganeh said that Iran would not abandon uranium enrichment or step back from its missile program.

Russia slammed the UN Security Council’s vote to reimpose sanctions on Iran, saying the move was illegal and would only escalate tensions over Tehran’s nuclear program.

“The Russian side has repeatedly pointed out the provocative and illegal nature of the actions of the European countries participating in the JCPOA,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement, referring to the 2015 nuclear accord.

“These actions have nothing to do with diplomacy and lead exclusively to a further escalation of tensions surrounding the Iranian nuclear program,” it added.

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian said the country will not surrender or bow to excessive demands after the UN Security Council voted against permanently lifting sanctions on Tehran.

“Last night, they decided to (trigger) the snapback (mechanism). They may close off paths, but minds and ideas create new ones. They cannot stop us…We will never surrender or bow to excessive demands,” he said.

“They can hit Natanz and Fordow, but it is the people who built them and will build Natanz and things far more important than Natanz,” Pezeshkian added.

Iran’s currency weakened on Saturday, slipping to 1,030,000 rials per US dollar in Tehran’s open market, a day after the UN Security Council voted down a resolution to permanently lift sanctions on Tehran.

“The Islamic Republic will definitely deliver a serious, decisive, and unhesitating response,” Iranian lawmaker Alireza Salimi said after the UN Security Council voted down a resolution to permanently lift sanctions on Tehran.

Salimi, a member of parliament’s presiding board, told the semi-official ISNA news agency that Iran had “multiple options on the table, one of which is withdrawal from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).”