Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

Iran warned about new sanctions against the country saying it can harm the ongoing nuclear talks over its disputed nuclear energy program.

Marzieh Afkham, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman said any new U.S. sanctions against the Islamic Republic could spoil the nuclear talks aimed at securing a long-term deal over Tehran’s nuclear program.

She said at her weekly press conference on January 14 that any further anti-Iran bans could lead to “a halt” in the ongoing nuclear negotiations between Tehran and the P5+1 group, Press TV reported.

“It is totally clear that using a worn-out tool which has been evidently proved ineffective is not helpful,” Afkham said, adding it is a “miscalculation” by certain U.S. officials that sanctions have brought Tehran to the negotiating table.

This comes as a group of Republican lawmakers is set to reintroduce a new bill seeking to impose tougher sanctions against Iran in case the negotiating sides fail to achieve the desirable results.

It is expected that the new Republican majority in the Senate, led by their leader Mitch McConnell, as well as some Democrats will to work over the legislation to expand the sanctions package against Iran and its nuclear program.

Afkham described the disputes over Iran’s civilian nuclear work as “fabricated” and said Tehran is determined to settle the issue through realism.

Recently, Samantha Power, the U.S. envoy to the United Nations said imposition of new sanctions against Iran will hamper negotiations over Tehran’s disputed nuclear program.

The White House has repeatedly stated that additional U.S. sanctions against Iran would "blow up the negotiations" on Tehran's nuclear program.

This comes as Iran and the P5+1 states, Russia, China, France, Britain and the U.S. plus Germany, are set to start a new round of talks on Tehran’s nuclear program in the Swiss city of Geneva on January 18.

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Sara Rajabova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @SaraRajabova

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