Iranian President Hassan Rouhani stated on Saturday that Tokyo had briefed Tehran on a new mechanism for circumventing US sanctions.
"We discussed sanctions. Everyone knows that this US move is against the international regulations and the Americans have to return from the wrong path they have taken,” Rouhani said, referring to his recent meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
The Iranian president described the US sanctions as “a lose-lose decision” which is detrimental to everyone, something that he said prompts “the Japanese, Europeans and others” to try and bypass these restrictive measures.=
“They have suggestions and solutions in this regard, and we believe that breaking the sanctions is a national and revolutionary duty for all of us,” Rouhani pointed out.
Separately, he welcomed Japan's decision not to join a US-led naval coalition which is allegedly aimed at protecting navigation in the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf near Iranian territorial waters
Rouhani Slams Anti-Iran Sanctions as ‘Violation of International Law’
The statement comes after he pledged earlier this month that Tehran will overcome US sanctions one way or another, either by bypassing them or through negotiations. He noted that US sanctions, including banking and oil export restrictions, have meant lower government revenues, which have had an impact on ordinary Iranians' lives.
The remarks followed the Iranian President describing last month the anti-Iranian sanctions as “a big political and economic mistake of the US” and as “a measure taken in violation of international laws”.
Earlier, Iran's ambassador to the UN Takht Ravanchi compared the European payment mechanism INSTEX, designed to continue trading with Iran and circumvent US sanctions, to a "beautiful car without fuel". He said that he “personally” believes that INSTEX “in its current condition isn't enough”.
US Reinstates Sanctions on Iran
The US re-imposed crippling sanctions against the Iranian economy’s energy, banking, and shipping sectors after Washington’s unilateral withdrawal from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), on 8 May 2018.
Additionally, the White House threatened to impose restrictive measures against any entity, including EU member states, if they dealt with Iran.
Exactly a year after the US’ pullout from the Iran deal, Tehran announced that it would start suspending some of its voluntary commitments under the JCPOA as the EU and other states had failed to resist the sanctions pressure from Washington.
Signed by Iran and the P5+1 nations — Russia, the US, China, France, the UK plus Germany, the JCPOA aims to curb Iran's nuclear ambitions in exchange for the gradual lifting of international economic sanctions on Tehran.