Poll: Iranians see new US sanctions against JCPOA

Washington Post wrote on Friday that the Toronto-based IranPoll for the Center for International and Security Studies at the University of Maryland has found that 73 percent of those surveyed said they believed new sanctions proposed through a bill against Iran's missile program would be in violation of the letter and/or the spirit of the nuclear deal singed in 2015, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

67 percent of Iranians participating in the poll expressed their support for JCPOA.

According to the results, the figure has improved compared to the two previous surveys.

Washington has imposed new sanctions against some Iranian individuals, claiming that they are contributing to Iran's missile program. Whereas, the US administration has twice certified that Iran had been committed to its JCPOA obligations.

Other fresh sanctions are lso proposed through a bill which has been verified by the US Congress awaiting President Donald Trump's signature.

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif responding to US officials accusing Iran of violating the nuclear deal by launching the Simorgh satellite carrier into the space, wrote on his twitter account on Friday: 'Every word of JCPOA carefully negotiated. Iran does not develop missiles that are 'DESIGNED to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons'.

'Iran is not and will not be developing nuclear weapons; so by definition cannot develop anything DESIGNED to be capable of delivering them,' Zarif added.

55 percent of the respondents also said that the issue of missile program is non-negotiable and Iran would countinue ballistic missiles, said the Post.

The results also showed that 63 percent of Iranians see the US expectations that Iran should reduce missile testing is unacceptable, according to the Washington Post.

'Iranians also strongly rejected Trump's calls to renegotiate the JCPOA, with 67 percent saying such a proposal should be refused outright,' the American paper wrote.

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