Iranian legislators on Tuesday voted to declare the United States military a terrorist organisation, a day after Washington increased the pressure on Tehran by announcing that no country would be exempt from American sanctions any longer if they continue to buy Iranian oil, AP reported.
The bill passed by the legislators came a week after they labelled as terrorists American troops in West Asia and said Washington was a “state sponsor of terrorism”. That measure was taken in response to America’s decision to blacklist Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps.
“Escalating economic terrorism against Iranians exposes panic and desperation of US regime – and chronic failures of its client co-conspirators,” Iran’s Foreign Minister Javad Zarif tweeted. “Real news, Donald Trump: inheritors of ancient Persian civilisation do not base strategy on ‘advice’ of foreigners – let alone Americans.”
On Tuesday, India’s Ministry of External Affairs said it was prepared to deal with the impact of the United States’ decision to not renew waivers that allowed eight countries to buy oil from Iran without facing sanctions. Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said the Centre will continue to work with partner countries to secure the country’s energy and economic security interests.
The US had re-imposed sanctions on Iran in November after Trump pulled out of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. The deal, signed during the presidency of Barack Obama, had lifted decades-old sanctions on Tehran imposed in the wake of its nuclear programme.
The US, however, had allowed India, China, South Korea, Japan, Greece, Taiwan, Turkey and Italy to temporarily import oil from the West Asian country without sanctions. Italy, Greece and Taiwan have already stopped buying oil from Iran.
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