Iran lawmakers raise missile, Guard spending to challenge US

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iran's parliament overwhelmingly has voted to increase spending on its ballistic missile program and its paramilitary Revolutionary Guard in response to recent new American sanctions.

In a session Sunday, 240 lawmakers voted for the bill, with only one abstention. Iran's state-run IRNA news agency says 247 lawmakers were on hand in the session.

The bill calls for the Defense Ministry and the Guard to increase spending, without elaborating.

The back-and-forth sanctions come as U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to renegotiate the nuclear deal Iran struck with world powers in 2015. That deal saw economic sanctions against Iran lifted in exchange for the Islamic Republic limiting its enrichment of uranium.

Iran meanwhile has launched ballistic missiles in tests, something it is allowed to do under the deal, despite American criticism.