US Needs to Quit Its Addiction to Sanctions: Iran’s Zarif
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif shrugged off the US administration’s plans to put economic pressures on the Islamic Republic, saying that Tehran will show Washington it needs to “quit addiction to sanctions”.
“The Americans are addicted to sanctions,” Zarif said, addressing a meeting of Iranian diplomats and economic activists working in the private sector in Tehran on Sunday.
“In the next few months, we will show to Washington that they have to quit this addiction,” the top diplomat added.
“Of course, I am not so naive to say that we can create confrontation between the US and Europe, but there is a gap between them and Iran should use it,” he said.
Zarif went on to say that the Islamic Republic has special capacities that should be tapped, including the interaction with small and medium-sized European companies, which can help the private sector to become more dynamic.
On May 8, the US president pulled his country out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), a nuclear agreement achieved in Vienna in 2015 after two years of negotiations among Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany).
After Donald Trump withdrew the US from the deal, his administration moved to re-implement the previous sanctions against Iran.
American authorities say the new sanctions would place “unprecedented economic pressure” on Iran and are seeking to impose sanctions against the countries that do not cut imports of Iranian oil to “zero” by November 4.
