Zarif: Pompeo’s Comments about US Flood Assistance Are Fake News

By Staff. Agencies

Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has dismissed claims by United States Secretary of State Michael Pompeo that Washington seeks to contribute to relief operations following nation-wide floods in Iran as "fake news."

Zarif slammed the comments in a tweet on Tuesday, saying that the "Iranian Red Crescent can't receive any funds due to illegal US sanctions" and describing the act as a case of "economic terrorism".

The comments echoed statements made by Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi earlier on Tuesday, which claimed that US sanctions have blocked relief support from foreign donors.

The US under President Donald Trump left a multi-lateral nuclear deal with Iran in 2017. It later returned the sanctions that had been lifted under the accord.

The nuclear accord, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, has the UK, France, Russia, China, and Germany as its other signatories. It was ratified in the form of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Resolution 2231 after conclusion in Vienna in July 2015.

Earlier on Monday, Zarif stressed that the economic restrictions, which Washington is deploying against Tehran under the banner of “maximum pressure”, are violating the related UN and ICJ regulations.