An Iranian Shahab-3 missile launched during military exercises outside the city of Qom, Iran, in June 2011. (AP/ISNA/Ruhollah Vahdati)
The Iranian parliament approved an additional 520 million dollars to develop the missile program, according to Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).
240 of the 244 deputies approved the draft resolution created in retaliation for new sanctions imposed by the United States on the Iranian missile program and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
“The United States must know that this is our first step to confront the terrorist acts and the risks that the United States is making in the region,” said Speaker of the Parliament of Iran Ali Larijani regarding the resolution.
Deputy Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Arqji also said that “the bill is supported by the government and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Committee overseeing the nuclear agreement with the United States”.
The new resolution will allocate 260 million dollars to develop the Iranian missile program and another 260 million dollars to support the foreign operations wing of the IRGC known as Quds Forces which the United States designates as a terrorist organization under the new sanctions.
Meanwhile, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani stressed Iran’s commitment to the nuclear agreement with the United States.
The nuclear agreement has been in the interest of the country, the region and the world, and no one can claim that the agreement has harmed Iranian interests,” he said.
Rouhani warned the United States that it would lose public support in case it worked against the nuclear agreement.
“Before the agreement the world was standing against the Iranian actions, and in the post-agreement period, the world will face the US if it wants to undermine the agreement”, Rouhani added.
The new US administration considers that the nuclear agreement with Iran useless because it does not include any conditions related to the activities of the IRGC or the Iranian missile program.
