Iran’s Zarif Slams Pompeo over ‘Starvation’ Threat
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif described his American counterpart's threat to starve Iranians as a “crime against humanity”, stressing that the Iranian nation will survive despite Washington’s sanctions.
"#WeWontForget @SecPompeo openly threatening to starve Iranians—a crime against humanity—in a desperate attempt to impose US whims on Iran. Like his predecessors, he'll also learn that—in spite of US efforts—Iran will not just survive but advance w/out sacrificing its sovereignty," Zarif said in a message posted on his Twitter account late on Saturday.
The tweet came after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, in a recent interview with the BBC, said Iranian officials must listen to Washington "if they want their people to eat."
On May 8, US President Donald Trump pulled his country out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (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.
The second batch of US sanctions against the Islamic Republic took effect on November 5.
