US sanctions will fail to stop the country’s progress in different fields, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran said.
“In spite of sanctions, Iran’s achievements in various fields, particularly in the defense and missile sectors as well as the nuclear industry have astonished the world,” Ali Akbar Salehi also told IRNA on Sunday.
He added that the United States has been pursuing the policy of imposing sanctions on the Iranian nation since the victory of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, emphasizing that sanctions were nothing new for Iran.
Iran’s nuclear chief noted that the country has managed to achieve great success despite all kinds of pressures, restrictions, eight years of Iraq-imposed war in the 80s and crippling sanctions.
The AEOI chief underscored that the Iranian nation relied on its own capabilities despite all the sanctions, saying Iran’s long-range missiles and nuclear gains have become famous in the world.
The administration of US President Donald Trump announced on Nov. 5 the reimposition of “toughest” sanctions ever against Iran’s banking and energy sectors with the aim of cutting off its oil sales and crucial exports. The bans had been lifted under the 2015 nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Saturday dismissed his American counterpart’s starvation threat, stressing that the Islamic Republic will survive and even advance despite Washington’s sanctions.
In a post on his official Twitter account, Zarif said US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s threat to starve the Iranian nation was “a crime against humanity” and “a desperate attempt to impose US whims on Iran”.
Zarif’s remarks came after Pompeo suggested in an interview with BBC Persian that Iranian officials need to change their regional and defense policies as demanded by Washington “if they want their people to eat”.
