Iran Parliament vows to fight US 'adventurism'

An overwhelming majority of Iranian lawmakers passed a motion to prioritise legislation "to confront terrorist and adventurist actions by the United States in the region," the Mizan Online website reported. The motion was originally introduced after the US Senate passed new sanctions on Iran in June and sent them to the House of Representatives. The proposed bill, published by the ISNA news agency, mandates the government to allocate an additional USD 260 million to the joint armed forces for the "development of the missile programme" and the same amount to the Revolutionary Guards' foreign operations wing, the Quds Force.

The motion sends a clear message to the Americans that Iran's Parliament "will resist them with all its power", speaker Ali Larijani said.

The Quds Force leads Iran's military role in Syria and Iraq. Tehran offers financial, political and military support for the governments of both countries, in particular by posting advisers on the ground and organising and training volunteer Shiite fighters.

The Pentagon has also repeatedly voiced concern over a string of high-profile incidents in waters off Iran involving Iranian vessels. It has accused the Revolutionary Guards of conducting risky manoeuvres around US warships in the Gulf, some of which resulted in the Americans firing warning shots.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration on Tuesday unveiled new economic sanctions against Iran over its ballistic missile program and for contributing to regional tensions, one day after warning Tehran that it was not following the spirit of its nuclear agreement with world powers. The US Department of Treasury, in a statement, said it was targeting 16 entities and individuals for supporting what is said was "illicit Iranian actors or transnational criminal activity."

Those sanctioned had backed Iran's military or Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) by developing drones and military equipment, producing and maintaining boats, and procuring electronic components, the US said.

Others have also 'orchestrated the theft of US and Western software programs' sold to Iran's government, the Treasury Department said.

The US State Department had also designated two Iranian organizations involved in Iran's ballistic missile program, according to the Treasury Department. AGENCIES The US today announced fresh sanctions against Iran, targeting 18 individuals or entities for supporting the country's ballistic missile programme or militant groups like Hezbollah, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad that threaten Israel and stability in the Middle East.

The move came a day after the Trump administration told the Congress that Iran is complying with the nuclear deal signed two years ago with the US and other world powers, and as such would continue to be exempted from American sanctions.