Ex-Iran MP threatens reopening drug routes to EU if UN sanctions return

Iranian lawmakers on Wednesday downplayed US restrictions on President Masoud Pezeshkian’s delegation in New York, with one calling them “a joke” and another saying they exposed President Donald Trump’s weakness.

Hassanali Akhlaghi Amiri, a lawmaker from Mashhad, said Iranian officials “have no need to buy goods from America” and described the measures as laughable.

Javad Hosseini-Kia, deputy head of parliament’s industry committee, said the restriction underscored Trump’s “weakness against Iran” and said Tehran would use forums like the UN General Assembly to push for greater unity among Muslim nations, including ideas for a shared “Islamic NATO and currency.”

Russia and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding on Wednesday to build small nuclear power plants in Iran, Russian state nuclear firm Rosatom said, deepening cooperation as Western powers move to reimpose sanctions on Tehran.

The agreement, described by Rosatom as a “strategic project,” was signed in Moscow by Rosatom chief Alexei Likhachev and Iran’s atomic energy chief Mohammad Eslami, who is also a vice president.

Eslami said earlier this week the plan envisions eight reactors as part of Tehran’s goal to expand nuclear capacity to 20 gigawatts by 2040. Four are slated for Bushehr, where Russia built Iran’s only operating reactor, with a capacity of about 1 GW.

Iran faces recurring electricity shortages.

Iran’s government has drawn up “the most pessimistic scenarios” to prepare for the activation of the United Nations snapback sanctions mechanism, government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani said on Wednesday.

“The government is optimistic, but we have designed the most pessimistic scenarios for this issue,” Mohajerani told reporters.

She added that while Tehran would not forgo diplomatic opportunities, “if they want to act with bullying, that is not dialogue.”

Ali Akbar Velayati, senior adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader, condemned Britain, France and Germany for triggering UN snapback sanctions, calling it proofof Western “inability” against Iran’s advances and saying the step would further isolate Europe, according to an interview with al-Mayadeen.

Velayati also compared US President Donald Trump’s conduct to Adolf Hitler’s early aggression, and fiercely criticized Israel, denouncing what he called crimes in Gaza and an “assault on Qatar.”

He said Iran favors peaceful diplomacy but will respond “with strength and national dignity” and argued the snapback mechanism has “no practical effect” on Tehran.

An Iranian lawmaker said on Wednesday that the reimposition of UN sanctions under the snapback mechanism would not close the door on the country’s economy.

Mojtaba Zolnouri, a parliamentarian from Tehran, said Iran would respond to the measures with reciprocal actions.

“With the activation of the snapback mechanism, the world will not shut down on our economy,” he said. “On the other hand, Iran will not remain passive and will take countermeasures.”