From the Liveblog of
Wednesday, July 17, 2019
Iran’s Zarif says US sanctions ‘economic terrorism’
Iran’s foreign minister is telling a United Nations gathering that US sanctions against his country amount to what he calls “economic terrorism.”
Mohammad Javad Zarif is speaking at a sustainable development forum. He decries the US sanctions and says “economic terrorism” is “deliberately targeting innocent civilians to achieve illegitimate political objectives.”
The US reimposed tough sanctions on Tehran’s oil exports after withdrawing last year from the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and several world powers. US President Donald Trump called the deal one-sided.
The sanctions exacerbated an economic crisis that has sent Iran’s currency plummeting.
Iran recently began surpassing uranium enrichment limits set in the deal.
Tehran has said the moves can be reversed if the pact’s other participants come up with economic incentives that effectively offset the American sanctions.
— AP
The Times of Israel Community.