Nothing New to Happen When Fresh US Sanctions Take Effect: Iran’s Zarif

Speaking upon his arrival in the Turkish city of Istanbul on Monday, Zarif pointed to Washington’s hostile measures against Tehran and said, “Usually, the effects of the sanctions are more psychological than practical.”

“The psychological effects of the US sanctions began from the day that Mr. Trump walked away from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and even before he announced the withdrawal,” he said.

“We have witnessed their (sanctions’) effects over the past six months since he (Trump) delivered his famous speech,” he added.

It is unlikely that something new would happen after the second batch of US sanctions take effect on November 4, the Iranian top diplomat said. 

He further pointed to planned measures to reduce the effects of the sanctions and said, “The mechanisms that the European Union (EU) is considering will be operational in just a few days.”

“It may take a while before it bcomes possible to use these mechanisms,” Zarif said, adding, “Some actions have taken more time (to be implemented) because of the pressures and acts of sabotage by the Americans during the process of (forming the mechanisms).”

The European Union has vowed to counter US President Donald Trump’s renewed sanctions on Iran, including by means of a new law to shield European companies from punitive measures.

On May 8, the US president pulled his country out of the JCPOA, the nuclear deal that was achieved in Vienna in 2015 after years of negotiations among Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany).

Following the US exit, Iran and the remaining parties launched talks to save the accord.

Trump on August 6 signed an executive order re-imposing many sanctions on Iran, three months after pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal.

He said the US policy is to levy “maximum economic pressure” on the country.

Trump also restated his opinion that the 2015 Iran nuclear deal was a “horrible, one-sided deal”.