Russia warns against repercussions of fresh Iran sanctions on Geneva deal

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov voiced Moscow's deep concern over the dual-track approaches that the US has adopted towards Iran, and cautioned about the negative impacts of the US officials' disloyalty to the Geneva deal which prohibits approval of fresh sanctions on Tehran. Russia opposes the expansion of US “unilateral and illegitimate” sanctions against Iran, warning that they will impede further progress in the talks about the Iranian nuclear energy program. "We clearly reject such steps. The US unilateral sanctions are illegitimate and contrary to the normal course of development of bilateral relations,” Ryabkov told reporters at the Iranian Embassy in Moscow on Tuesday on the sidelines of a ceremony held to mark the 35th anniversary of the victory of the Islamic Revolution. “And in this particular situation they (sanctions) impede further progress in the negotiations," the Russian diplomat said. On Tuesday, Iranian Foreign Ministry summoned Swiss Ambassador to Tehran Giulio Hass in protest at the fresh US sanctions against a number of companies and individuals for doing business with Iran. On February 6, the US blacklisted about three dozen of companies and individuals, accusing them of evading anti-Iran sanctions. The US Treasury Department said the targeted entities operating in Turkey, Spain, Germany, Georgia, Afghanistan, Iran, Liechtenstein and the United Arab Emirates. The Iranian foreign ministry termed the US government’s action and the comments made by some American statesmen as “against the spirit” of a  landmark nuclear deal clinched between Iran and the six major powers in Geneva last November. It underlined that the recent statement released by the Treasury Department clearly demonstrates the US government’s confusion in determining its position on issues like terrorism. Hass assured the Iranian foreign ministry diplomats that Iran's message would be conveyed to Washington and that he would also relay a response. The Swiss embassy in Tehran represents the US Interests Section in Iran since Tehran and Washington severed diplomatic relations in 1980. On November 24, Iran and the Group 5+1 (the US, Russia, China, Britain and France plus Germany) sealed a six-month Joint Plan of Action to lay the groundwork for the full resolution of the West’s decade-old dispute with Iran over its nuclear energy program. In exchange for Tehran’s confidence-building bid to limit certain aspects of its nuclear activities, the Sextet of world powers agreed to lift some of the existing sanctions against Tehran and continue talks with the country to settle all problems between the two sides. After Iran and the world powers struck a deal in November, the US Treasury Department imposed fresh sanctions against companies and individuals for their business links with Iran. The US Treasury Department said the targeted entities operated in Turkey, Spain, Germany, Georgia, Afghanistan, Iran, Liechtenstein and the United Arab Emirates. Also, Washington officials have been making increasing provocative remarks against Iran and the deal since November. US Secretary of State John Kerry said in an interview in Geneva in January that the military option was still on the table if Iran did not live up to its nuclear commitments under the Geneva deal. In response, a large number of Iranian officials have warned of the dire repercussions of such remarks by Washington officials. Lieutenant Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Brigadier General Hossein Salami warned that the slightest military move by the US will be reciprocated by Iran's harshest response, underlining that Iran's reaction would "recognize no boundary".