Iran chief: U.S. sanctions on business an 'invasion'

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani reacts Saturday in Tehran to Western sanctions over Iran’s nuclear program.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani reacts Saturday in Tehran to Western sanctions over Iran’s nuclear program.

Sunday, August 31, 2014

TEHRAN, Iran -- Iranian President Hassan Rouhani called Western sanctions an "invasion" Saturday after Washington imposed new penalties over the country's contested nuclear program, though he promised negotiations with world powers would go on.

The U.S. imposed sanctions Friday on more than 25 businesses, banks and individuals it said were suspected of working to expand Iran's nuclear program, supporting terrorism and helping the Islamic Republic evade U.S. and international sanctions. The sanctions bar Americans from engaging in transactions with any of the designated parties, freezing assets and blocking property under U.S. jurisdiction.

Speaking to officials Saturday, Rouhani criticized the sanctions.

"Sanctions are an invasion of the Iranian nation. We should resist the invasion and put the invaders in their place," Rouhani said in remarks broadcast by state TV. "We should not allow the continuation and repetition of the invasion."

However, Friday's action did not constitute an expansion of the sanctions regime, but rather the enforcement of existing sanctions.

Later Saturday, Rouhani said at a news conference that the sanctions would not thwart the nuclear talks with world powers, though he called those affecting the country's pharmaceutical companies a "crime against humanity."

Rouhani also said he didn't know whether he would attend next month's U.N. General Assembly and said he had "no plan" to meet President Barack Obama there. Last year, the two leaders spoke by telephone, the first direct conversation between leaders of the two countries since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

The West long has suspected Iran of trying to build an atomic weapon through its nuclear program. Iran has said its program is for peaceful purposes, like medical research and generating electricity.

Last November, world powers and Iran reached an interim deal over the nuclear program, which called for Iran to limit its uranium enrichment in exchange for an easing of some economic sanctions. Both sides are now negotiating a final deal.

Already this month, Iran announced work was underway to redesign its nearly completed Arak heavy water reactor so it produces less plutonium, a key sticking point in negotiations. It also recently inaugurated a new plant to convert a type of uranium into a material that cannot be used to make nuclear weapons, another point in talks.

Voters elected Rouhani last year after he promised to engage the West diplomatically in order to get the sanctions lifted.

Meanwhile at Saturday's news conference, Rouhani declined to specifically discuss the case of a detained Washington Post correspondent.

Jason Rezaian, 38, and his wife, Yeganeh Salehi, a correspondent for the Abu Dhabi-based daily newspaper The National, have been held for more than a month. They were detained with two photojournalists who were later released.

When asked about Rezaian's detention, Rouhani said: "In our country, there is not a united viewpoint. There are different viewpoints. Institutes and organs have tasks that they carry some actions in their framework."

It wasn't clear which part of the question Rouhani was responding to.

Iranian officials have not specifically said why Rezaian and his wife were detained.

The Washington Post has said Rezaian holds both American and Iranian citizenship. His wife is an Iranian citizen who has applied for U.S. permanent residency.

A Section on 08/31/2014