The Iranian Parliament’s bill to counter the US actions in the region and Washington’s sanctions against Tehran requires the Defense Ministry and the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Force to increase Iran’s defense and deterrence power, Fars News Agency (FNA) reported.
Based on the Parliament bill, unanimously approved on Sunday, the Defense Ministry and the IRGC Aerospace Force are required to present their executive plans to reinvigorate the country’s defense and deterrence power in area of missile technology within a month to be approved by the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC).
Also, based on the bill, the government should add 2,000 billion Rials (over $52 million) to the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) budget to develop its peaceful technical, research and industrial activities in areas of discovery, exploitation and processing nuclear materials.
In the meantime, the government and Armed Forces are required to develop plans and make the necessary moves to strengthen the country’s defense capabilities in all offensive and defensive areas, including air, naval, ground, missile and civil defense fields, against atomic attacks, and produce propellants, nuclear batteries, neutron imaging and nuclear medicine.
US President Donald Trump has warned to discard the nuclear deal with Iran, while a US Congress bill passed both houses with veto-proof majorities that includes new sanctions against Iran, Russia and North Korea.
In response, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif blasted the US hostility and disloyalty to the 2015 nuclear deal, warning that Tehran will reciprocate Washington’s defiance with legal and practical measures.
He then said the Iranian Parliament has recently studied reciprocal moves against the US violations.
The countermeasures are a package that has come under a relevant bill whose single-urgency was approved by the parliament in mid-July. The bill blasts the US administration and military and intelligence authorities' support for the terrorist groups in the region, and calls on the Judiciary to confiscate their properties.
The Parliament had warned to put the bill into motion if the US approved new sanctions against Iran.
The bill calls on the government to take reciprocal measures in proportion to the US hostile acts in cooperation with the SNSC and report the results to the Parliament.
The bill increases the budget for the General Staff of the Armed Forces to develop its missile activities and the IRGC Quds Force to expand its anti-terrorism campaign in the region.
“The bill allocates some $609 million to several state bodies, including the Foreign Ministry, Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs, the Judiciary, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) and its Qods Force, to monitor and probe the US actions in the region,” he added.
Iranian lawmakers had passed the single-urgency motion with 93% of the votes, referring it to the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission for further consultation with different state organizations and legislative bodies.
