The United States is “addicted to sanctions” – Iran FM

Tabnak – As the United States appears determined to go ahead with its plan to increase economic pressures on Iran by unilateral sanctions, Iranian foreign minister relates this US approach to Washington’s “addiction” to sanctions, vowing that the country will successfully overcome the current hardships.

According to a report by Press TV, Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says the United States is addicted to sanctions, but the Iranians can pass through the current "critical" stage with national unity.

A review of "the history of US foreign relations shows that this country has imposed the most sanctions on the majority of countries," Zarif said in Tehran on Sunday. The minister was addressing the first joint conference of representatives of the private sector and Iranian ambassadors as well as heads of Iran’s diplomatic missions abroad.

"God willing, we can improve the situation day by day as the world stands with us and we should use this opportunity. Today, all branches of the government are united to pass through this critical stage," he added.

Zarif said, "We can turn pressures into an increase in national production and non-oil exports and show the Americans that they should abandon" this approach. "We believe the world has come to the conclusion that the United States needs to quit its addiction to sanctions."

Zarif said, "The US president and his predecessors have sanctioned us for some 40 years, but with God's grace and the Iranian people's efforts, we have made progress, achieved dignity day by day and endured difficulties."

"We need to believe that we can pass through this stage as well and show the world that the Iranian people are bigger than those who sanction them," he added. Zarif also said in the face of the US "bullying," the Europeans and economic activists should decide whether they want to preserve European interests or Trump's interests.

Also on Sunday, Iran's Defense Minister Brigadier General Amir Hatami said the Islamic Republic will never bow to enemies' excessive demands. According to Hatami, enemies wrongly believe that they can force the Iranian nation and the Islamic establishment to yield to their demands through pressure.

The Iranians have managed to overcome "more difficult and complicated" conditions since the victory of the Islamic Revolution in 1979, including the Iraqi imposed war, acts of terror by the notorious anti-Iran terrorist group, the Mujahedin Khalq Organization (MEK), and extensive sanctions, he added.

He said the Islamic Republic is currently facing "special conditions" created by the enemies and added that despite all threats against Iran, "We have many opportunities ahead to strengthen the [country's] economic structure."

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.