MP Mehdi Davatgari, member of the Iranian parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission. Photo: Screenshot.

After Iran decried the U.S. government’s recent tightening of existing sanctions against the country, a senior Iranian MP said American leaders are not to be trusted, Iran’s semi-official government news agency FARS reported on Monday. The U.S. move came just weeks after Iran and world powers reached an agreement in Geneva that exchanged limitations on the country’s nuclear program for sanctions relief.

“Deception is part of the U.S. rulers’s DNA and there is no doubt that Americans have no respect for the international community,” MP Mehdi Davatgari, member of the Iranian parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, told FARS.

“The U.S. has insulted the other members of the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, France and Britain plus Germany) by imposing these new embargoes,” he said, adding that if the U.S. doesn’t want to remain committed to the Geneva agreement, Iran sees no reason to abide by the deal either.

On Sunday, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said that after the U.S. move, which included the blacklisting of firms doing business with Iran, Tehran would respond to any measure adopted by the world powers in violation of the deal, FARS said.

“The Americans have taken improper measures in the last few days and we have given the appropriate response to them after considering all aspects of the issue,” Zarif said on Sunday.

Under the terms of the “Geneva Agreement,” reached in November, the U.S.-led sanctions would be rolled back to allow Iran to re-enter the oil markets, buy civilian aircraft and automobile parts and release $7 billion in frozen assets. In exchange, Tehran would agree to tighter inspection of its nuclear facilities. After six months, the interim agreement would be re-evaluated.

In response, U.S. Senators began to draft a new series of sanctions that could be levied after the six months expired, if Iran failed to live up to its commitments.