US Interference Represents Real Threat to Security in Middle East

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — On Tuesday, the United States announced new sanctions targeting Iran’s military and Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) over Tehran’s ballistic missile program, with a total of 18 entities and individuals being on the sanctions’ list, including one Turkish and four Chinese companies acting as intermediaries. The sanctions were introduced the same day as the State Department re-certified Tehran’s compliance to the 2015 nuclear agreement.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran is convinced that the serious and real threat to security, stability and development of the Middle East is the US' interference in the internal affairs of the countries [of the region], carried out with specific objectives of destabilizing the situation and undermining security," Qassemi said in a statement released by the ministry.

Qassemi added that all of Iran’s military programs were aimed at maintaining the country’s defense, while Iran had never viewed its military capabilities as a way to threaten any other country.

In July 2015, Iran, the European Union and the so-called P5+1 group of nations, comprised of the United States, Russia, France, Germany, the United Kingdom and China, signed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which implies the lifting of nuclear-related sanctions on Iran in exchange for assurances that Tehran’s nuclear program would remain peaceful.