The US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, warns that if Tehran does not meet the demands of Washington, the Iranian people will pay the price.
In an interview with British broadcaster BBC Persian on Thursday , the top US diplomat denied that the unilateral sanctions reimposed by the United States were punishing the Iranian nation; an affirmation that the Iranian Government rejects in every way.
After leaving the nuclear agreement of 2015, signed between Iran and the Group 5 + 1 (then formed by the US, the United Kingdom, France, Russia and China, plus Germany), the US Administration reimposed in two batches all the embargoes that had been lifted under the pact and threatened to punish countries that do business with Tehran.
USA has submitted to Iran 12 demands as a condition to address a new, more intrusive nuclear pact and the likely lifting of sanctions, including the end of Iranian military advisers from Syria, where they support the fight against terrorism.
The Islamic Republic has rejected the proposal as a whole and has considered it a “flagrant interference in internal affairs” of the Persian country.
“The leadership (of Iran) must make the decision if it wants its people to eat. They have to decide if they want to use their wealth to import medicines (…) or waste it, “said Pompeo, considering Tehran’s support for the fight against terrorism in Syria as waste of money.
In the interview, the head of the US Diplomacy also stated that basic and humanitarian products, such as food and medicine, are “exempt from US sanctions”.
On Friday, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohamad Yavad Zarif has responded to his US counterpart, saying that Washington “is responsible for crimes against humanity in Iran and Yemen” for restricting, through its sanctions, access to food and medicine. .
“Just like Yemen, Pompeo blames Iran for illegal US sanctions, which impede Iranians’ access to financial services for food and medicine,” Zarif has criticized on his Twitter profile , saying that despite the “efforts” of Washington, the “Islamic Republic will supply the necessary products to the people”.
