TEHRAN, July 19 (Xinhua) -- Iran on Wednesday vowed to "duly respond" to new U.S. sanctions while pledging to remain committed to the international deal on its nuclear program.
Iran will reciprocate the recent U.S. sanctions against Iranian individuals and entities under the excuse of Iran's missile program, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said.
The United States slapped Tuesday sanctions on 18 entities and individuals linked to Iran's ballistic missile program and other non-nuclear activities.
The U.S. officials have said Iran's ballistic missile launches are threats to the U.S. interests in the world.
The Iranian officials, however, unanimously call the missile tests the "inalienable right" of the country to boost deterrent power.
The U.S. pressures on Iran are the "plots" aimed at pressing Iran to set back from its international commitments, Rouhani said.
"The Americans will never succeed in their new plots against the Islamic republic," he added.
The U.S. is unhappy about the atmosphere following the nuclear deal which has resulted in the growing relations between Iran and the Europeans as well as the Asians, the president noted.
"Iran will never withdraw from its international obligations including the nuclear deal," he said. "However, the U.S. sanctions under different pretexts contradict both the text and the spirit of the nuclear deal."
Rouhani lauded the "steadfastness" of other members of the nuclear deal as Iran's partners to "safeguard the JCPOA (or the nuclear deal)."
Iran and six world powers, namely Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States, reached an agreement on the Iranian nuclear issue in July 2015, which put it on the path of sanctions relief but with more strict limits on its nuclear program.
Also, Iran's Foreign Ministry slammed the new U.S. sanctions over the country's missile program as "hostile."
In a statement, the foreign ministry said the move to impose new economic sanctions against Tehran was "useless," and that Iran pledged to show proper response.
"Iran will, in turn, impose new sanctions against a number of other American individuals and entities that have taken hostile steps against the Iranian nation and other Muslim nations in the region," the statement read.
Besides, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the new U.S. sanctions against Iran "violate the spirit" of Iran's nuclear deal.
"It violates the spirit of the deal. We will look at it and see whether it violates the letter of the deal," said Zarif in an interview with CBS.
On Wednesday, China called for mutual trust and responsibility from all sides to safeguard and carry out the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, after the United States slapped new sanctions on Iranian entities and individuals over Iran's missile program.
"All sides have the responsibility to safeguard and carry out the Iran nuclear deal," Lu Kang, foreign ministry spokesman, said at a daily press briefing.
China is resolutely opposed to any form of nuclear proliferation activities and has always opposed so-called "long-arm jurisdiction" by any country based on its domestic law, according to Lu.
"Effective international cooperation relies on necessary mutual trust by all sides," he said.
