Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Saturday called the US sanctions on the Islamic Republic's central bank a sign of desperation
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st September, 2019) Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Saturday called the US sanctions on the Islamic Republic's central bank a sign of desperation.US President Donald Trump announced "highest level" sanctions on the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) and the sovereign wealth fund on Friday after blaming Tehran for last week's attacks on Saudi oil facilities.
"US' new designation of Central Bank displays: desperation & the failure of its 'max pressure,' the preventing of CBI from financing import of food & medicine for our people," Zarif tweeted.
He again accused what Tehran sees as a coalition of anti-Iran hawks in the United States and Israel of new attempts to drag Trump into a war with Iran.
In his speech from the Oval Office, Trump struck a more reconciliatory tone saying he preferred "showing a little bit of restraint" after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called the oil attacks an act of war.
The United States has been ramping up economic sanctions on Iran as part of its "maximum pressure" effort to bring Iran back to the negotiating table after Washington quit the 2015 deal, which restricted Tehran's nuclear program.
