Roundup: Iran vows retaliatory response to fresh sanctions by U.S.

Iran's Majlis (parliament) has devised retaliatory plans in case that the United States imposes fresh sanctions on the country over its nuclear program, the Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani said here on Saturday.

The lawmakers have "seriously considered scenarios" to make the United States regretful if the U.S. Congress decides to slap new sanctions on Iran, Larijani was quoted as saying by Tasnim news agency.

"A jump in (expanding) Iran's nuclear technology" will occur in case of fresh sanctions, he said, adding that Tehran is absolutely capable of doing that.

Iran has already shown necessary flexibility in the course of nuclear talks with six world powers, and the U.S. President Barack Obama's struggle with the Congress is his own problem and Iran does not have to pay the price for the political infighting in the western state, the Iranian speaker said.

Washington will be held accountable for possible failure of nuclear talks, Larijani made the remarks following the recent push by some U.S. hardline lawmakers to pass new sanctions against Iran.

Meanwhile, the senior Iranian lawmaker, Hossein Naghavi-Hosseini, said Saturday that any new sanctions against Iran will seriously hurt the ongoing nuclear talks between Iran and the world powers, and the U.S. will be responsible for the probable failure.

Any new sanctions on Iran is against the Geneva accord, and "if this happens it will definitely put an end to the talks," Naghavi-Hosseini, the spokesman for the Majlis (parliament) National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, was quoted as saying by semi-official ISNA news agency.

The six countries -- Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States -- and Iran clinched an interim agreement in Geneva in November 2013, whereby Iran agreed to cap its nuclear program in exchange for limited sanction relief.

However, the deadline for following negotiations was extended twice last year, yet with no major breakthroughs.

If the ongoing nuclear negotiations fail, "the United States will be responsible for the failure of the talks," Naghavi-Hosseini said also referring to the recent moves by some U.S. Congressmen to impose fresh sanctions against the Islamic republic.

A new draft is being prepared by the Majlis which means "to oblige the government to resume nuclear enrichment using new generation of centrifuges," he said.

"Majlis' nuclear committee is working on the technical aspects of the draft in detail," he was quoted as saying.

If the western countries hinder the progress of the talks, the Iranian government will have to upgrade uranium enrichment to 60 percent purity, Naghavi-Hosseini added.

Iran has been a target of UN sanctions due to its alleged attempts to build nuclear weapons. The West accuses Iran of developing nuclear weapons under the cover of civilian nuclear programs, which Iran has denied, insisting that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only.

The sides agreed in November 2014 to extend the deadline for another seven months aimed to reach a political agreement within the next five months.

How much nuclear capability Iran can keep, and the steps to lift West-imposed sanctions against Tehran are the main sticking points for the ongoing negotiations.

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammed-Javad Zarif and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry held talks about Tehran's nuclear program on Friday on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in the Swiss city of Davos.

Deputy foreign ministers from Iran are going to sit down with diplomats from the UK, France and Germany in the Turkish city of Istanbul later this month to further discuss Iran's nuclear issue, according to Press TV report on Saturday. Endit