Iran foreign minister blasts US 'sanctions addiction'
Iran foreign minister blasts US 'sanctions addiction'
Iran's Javad Zarif has accused the US of having a sanctions 'addiction' dating back to the Obama era, as the looming embargo on the republic sends the economy into freefall
2 min read
Iran's Foreign Minister Javad Zarif is no stranger to trading barbs with the US [Getty]
Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif has accused the US of an "addiction" to imposing sanctions on other countries, in the latest tit-for-tat exchange between the two countries.
The fallout centres on the renewed US embargo on the Islamic Republic, which has sent Iran's economy spiralling into chaos.
"The record of US foreign relations shows that at any point in the history the most sanctions on the highest number of countries have been imposed by the United States," Zarif told a meeting of Iranian ambassadors, heads of missions and business people, according to the IRNA state news agency.
"The Americans are sanctions addicts, and the addiction has prevented them, even in Obama['s] terms of office, from complying with their obligations," Zarif was quoted as saying.
Zarif made his remarks the same day that the Iranian currency plummeted to record lows, on Sunday sitting at around 100,000 rials to the dollar.
Trump has warned that the renewed sanctions - that begin next month - will be more severe and wide-ranging than ever before. He has also issued stark threats to US allies to stop Iranian imports - including oil - or risk being sanctioned themselves.
On 7 August, sanctions will resume on Iran buying dollars, trading in gold or other important commodities.
Trump has boasted that his role in starting sanctions has sparked strikes and popular demonstrations against the Tehran government and shortages, unemployment, and falling living standards witnessed across Iran.
Follow us on Twitter: @The_NewArab
The fallout centres on the renewed US embargo on the Islamic Republic, which has sent Iran's economy spiralling into chaos.
"The record of US foreign relations shows that at any point in the history the most sanctions on the highest number of countries have been imposed by the United States," Zarif told a meeting of Iranian ambassadors, heads of missions and business people, according to the IRNA state news agency.
"The Americans are sanctions addicts, and the addiction has prevented them, even in Obama['s] terms of office, from complying with their obligations," Zarif was quoted as saying.
Zarif made his remarks the same day that the Iranian currency plummeted to record lows, on Sunday sitting at around 100,000 rials to the dollar.
Trump has warned that the renewed sanctions - that begin next month - will be more severe and wide-ranging than ever before. He has also issued stark threats to US allies to stop Iranian imports - including oil - or risk being sanctioned themselves.
On 7 August, sanctions will resume on Iran buying dollars, trading in gold or other important commodities.
Trump has boasted that his role in starting sanctions has sparked strikes and popular demonstrations against the Tehran government and shortages, unemployment, and falling living standards witnessed across Iran.
Follow us on Twitter: @The_NewArab
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