Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Monday shrugged off the forthcoming US sanctions against the Islamic Republic, saying Washington will fail to achieve its goals by imposing new bans on Iran.
Speaking upon his arrival in Istanbul, Zarif added, according to PressTV, that nothing new would happen after the imposition of the second batch of US sanctions on November 4.
In May, US President Donald Trump withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, which he has slammed as “the worst deal ever negotiated”.
Trump later signed an executive order officially reinstating US sanctions against Iran. Additional US sanctions targeting Iran's oil and shipping industries will go into effect on November 4.
"The possibility that the US will be able to achieve its economic goals through these sanctions is very remote and there is certainly no possibility that it will attain its political goals through such sanctions," Zarif said on Monday, emphasizing that the new US sanctions would mainly have "psychological effects."
Zarif added that the European Union would approve by November the establishment of a mechanism which aims to bypass American sanctions and to allow the continuation of trade between Tehran and EU member states
"However, due to the US pressure, it may take some time before this mechanism becomes fully operational," he added, expressing hope that the implementation of the strategies devised between Iran and the EU would lead to further US isolation within the international community.
"Today, except for some regional regimes, no country supports the US measures against Iran," Zarif claimed.
The European signatories to the deal did not agree with Trump’s decision to leave the deal and have been trying to save the accord, which they see as crucial to forestalling an Iranian nuclear weapon.
Last month, the European Union vowed to help Iran evade the economic sanctions imposed by the US, shielding companies doing business with the rogue state in an effort to preserve the Iran nuclear deal.
Despite American plans to reimpose sanctions, the European Union has called for an expansion in trade with Iran.
