Zarif: Trump Will Be Forced to Change His Policies on Iran

Iran's Foreign Minister reacted to the complete reinstatement of U.S. sanctions against Tehran, stating that Donald Trump, the President of the United States, will be forced to change his policy regarding Iran. Mohammad Javad Zarif claimed in a video released on Tuesday, November 6, that 'the aim of U.S. sanctions is the Iranian people, but this policy will not affect the determination of the people, and Americans will regret their actions.' Following Washington's withdrawal from the nuclear agreement with Iran, suspended sanctions against Tehran were fully reinstated on Monday, November 5, although the U.S. granted temporary exemptions to eight countries for purchasing oil from Tehran. On this day, Mike Pompeo and Steven Mnuchin, the U.S. Secretary of State and Secretary of the Treasury, announced the details of the return of U.S. sanctions against Iran. Accordingly, the new round of sanctions includes 50 Iranian banks and their subsidiaries, and in the shipping and energy sectors, it includes over 200 individuals and vessels. Mike Pompeo had previously emphasized that the goal of the U.S. is 'to force Iran to abandon its destructive activities, and these sanctions target the Iranian government, not the people.' Zarif further noted that 'the world is standing against the U.S. No one, except for a few small countries and the Zionist regime in our region, is willing to follow U.S. actions. We observed this anger from the international consensus against U.S. unilateralism in the tone and statements of the U.S. Secretary of State and Secretary of the Treasury yesterday.' The European Union opposes the U.S. action in sanctioning Iran and is trying to create conditions that still allow European companies to trade with Iran to prevent Tehran from exiting the nuclear agreement. However, many large European companies have left the Iranian market due to fears of U.S. sanctions, including Total, Peugeot-Citroën, Eni, Maersk shipping company, Airbus, and Volvo. On the other hand, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been one of the leaders who expressed his opposition to U.S. sanctions against Iran and stated that his country will not comply. Meanwhile, Zarif stated that 'bad days are ahead for the U.S. government.' According to him, the Trump administration 'has not even been able to prove to its own people that its policies are in their favor and is more concerned with the interests of a small group that constitutes its supporters than with U.S. national interests.' Zarif concluded by saying, 'Previous U.S. administrations also started with noise and disrespect towards the Iranian people, but as they gained experience, they changed their policies and tone. Trump will also see after a while that his policies will not affect the determination of the Iranian people and will be forced to change his policy towards Iran.' U.S. officials claim that Iran has lost more than two billion dollars in revenue since the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA. On Tuesday, Eshaq Jahangiri, the First Vice President of Iran, also stated that he cannot falsely claim that sanctions have no effect, as sanctions do have an impact but must be minimized.