Rouhani threatens to revive nuclear programme after Senate votes for 10-year extension to Iran Sanctions Act

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani yesterday called on outgoing US President Barack Obama not to sign a 10-year  extension to Washington’s  Iran Sanctions Act, amid reports that the Iranian parliament is  preparing to table a motion that would give the government a mandate to resume its nuclear programme in retaliation.
Although last year’s nuclear agreement between Iran and six world powers lifted a variety of international sanctions in exchange for limitations on the Iranian nuclear program, the US also has its own separate set of sanctions in place that date back to 1996 and  which were due to  expire at the end of the month; that was, at least, until last Thursday for his sign-off.  
Speaking in an open session of Iran’s parliament Sunday, Rouhani said Obama was  “obliged” to let the sanctions expire and promised a “prompt response” if Obama chose to sign. “We are committed to an acceptable implementation of the deal but in response to non-commitment, violation or hesitation in its implementation, we will act promptly,” he said.
“A three-urgency motion on the resumption of nuclear activities has been drafted due to the urgency [required] to counter the U.S. move,” Iranian MP Akbar Ranjbarzadeh, told Press TV.
In the wake of Donald Trump’s victory in last month’s presidential election the  future of the US nuclear deal with Iran was already beginning to look shaky after the president elect used the campaign trail to call it a disaster and to promise to dismantle it. His words elicited a strong reaction from CIA director John Brennan, who said that tearing up the Iran nuclear deal would be “the height of folly”, would undermine American foreign policy, embolden hard-liners in Iran and threaten to set off an arms race in the Middle East by encouraging other countries to develop nuclear weapons.