Iran sanctions restored

IRAN is preparing for a possible confrontation with the West, after the United Nations reimposed sanctions over its nuclear programme, despite appeals for continued negotiations to ease the economic pain squeezing the country.

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The sanctions imposed before dawn yesterday again freeze Iranian assets abroad, halt arms deals with Tehran, and penalise any development of Iran's ballistic missile programme, among other measures. It came through a mechanism known as "snapback" included in Iran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.

Iran's parliament denounced the sanctions before going into a private session yesterday to discuss the country's response, which could include abandoning the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and rushing to produce a bomb.