Ghasemi Accuses the U.S. of Psychological and Economic Warfare Against Iran

The spokesperson for Iran's Foreign Ministry described the formation of a U.S. action group targeting Iran as a "hostile," "psychological and economic war" and "contrary to international law." According to IRNA news agency, Bahram Ghasemi stated in a press conference on Monday, August 20, that "such actions will lead nowhere and will be controlled by the resistance of the people and existing strategies." He also mentioned that "although sanctions may create problems in certain areas, we can overcome these issues." Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's Foreign Minister, also tweeted that the action group formed by the U.S. State Department aims for the "overthrow" of the Islamic Republic but will "fail." Mike Pompeo, the U.S. Secretary of State, announced on Thursday, August 16, the establishment of a special task force to address issues related to Iran. Following this, Brian Hook, the head of this task force, stated that the goal of this campaign is to exert maximum economic pressure on Iran, cutting off its access to financial resources for funding terrorism and its missile program. Meanwhile, John Bolton, the U.S. National Security Advisor, and Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, emphasized in their meetings in Jerusalem the need to contain the regional influence of the Islamic Republic of Iran and counter its missile and nuclear plans. Previously, Bolton had accused not only Russia but also the governments of China, North Korea, and Iran of seeking to "interfere" in U.S. elections during an ABC program. In response, the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson remarked that "the infidel considers everyone to be of his own faith." Iranian officials have repeatedly accused the U.S. of "interfering in Iran's internal affairs," a claim that Washington has denied. On Monday, the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson also urged European officials to pursue negotiations with Iran to continue the JCPOA and provide an "economic package" with "greater seriousness." He added, "Due to the August holidays and the situation in Europe and the world in general during this time, and other reasons, we may have faced some delays and are not fully satisfied with the speed of progress." Previously, both the Iranian Foreign Minister and Minister of Oil expressed dissatisfaction with the details of the European proposal to preserve the JCPOA.