More sanctions on Iran. President: They can't stop us

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian announced in a televised address on Saturday that Iran would overcome the difficulties caused by the reimposition of sanctions under the "snapback" mechanism. The UN Security Council had previously ruled against permanently lifting the sanctions.

"They can't stop us. They can attack our Natanz or Fordow (nuclear installations bombed in June - PAP), but they don't realize that it was people who built and will rebuild Natanz," Pezeshkian said.

"We will never give in to excessive demands because we have the power to change the situation," the Iranian president said.

The Security Council's decision came Friday after Britain, France, and Germany began the process of reimposing sanctions. They accused Tehran of failing to comply with a 2015 agreement with world powers aimed at preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons. Iran has consistently denied any such intention, but has enriched uranium to levels several times greater than any civilian use and approaching military requirements.

The process of restarting sanctions would result in a return to the former UN restrictions on Iran unless a preliminary agreement is reached between Tehran and key European powers within about a week.

Unfreezing sanctions would mean reimposing an arms embargo, a ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing, a ban on activities involving ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, a global asset freeze on Iranian individuals and entities, and travel bans.

Iranian lawmaker Mohsen Zanganeh said in an interview with state television that Tehran conducted a successful safety test of an intercontinental missile on Thursday evening. "Two nights ago, we tested one of the country's most advanced missiles, which has never been tested before, and it was successful," he said.

There have also been statements threatening Tehran with withdrawing from the agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and even from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), Iran International reported. (PAP)

os/ mal/