Iran lawmaker doubts U.S. sincerity on nuclear talks

TEHRAN, Dec. 16 (UPI) -- A U.S. decision to impose new sanctions on Iran show the government there isn't committed to a solution to the nuclear impasse, an Iranian lawmaker said Monday.

Hossein Naqavi Hosseini, a senior lawmaker on a foreign policy committee in the Iranian parliament, said the U.S. government is "clearly" against an interim nuclear deal reached last month in Geneva, Switzerland.

"The move [by the Treasury Department] indicates that United States is not committed to the deal," he told the official Islamic Republic News Agency.

The U.S. Treasury Department last week announced it was sanctioning "more than a dozen companies and individuals" for helping Iran evade international sanctions on Iran's energy sector.

"These actions ... demonstrate our continued commitment to vigorously impose sanctions on those who evade or attempt to evade our sanctions," a U.S. administration official said during a background briefing with reporters last week.

Iran secured some relief from sanctions designed to starve it of revenue it could use to finance its controversial nuclear program. In exchange, Iran agreed during the Geneva talks to suspend some of its nuclear research.