Zarif Slams US Persistence of Failed “Maximum Pressure” Policy Even Amid COVID-19

By Staff, Agencies

Iran has censured the new US administration for still pursuing the failed ‘maximum pressure’ campaign launched by former president Donald Trump even during the deadly coronavirus pandemic.

In a post on his Twitter account on Friday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif published the image of a 6.5-year-old Iranian girl who was affected by the US sanctions, and a letter written by her and addressed to the US.

Zarif said the little girl has “paid the price for cruel and inhumane choices of politicians far away.”

He added that the girl’s situation is not “unique” as the United States “continues to exert Trump's failed ‘maximum pressure’ on the Iranian people even amid COVID-19.

Zarif asked, “Isn't it time to try something that may actually work?”

In 2015, Iran and six world states – namely the US, Germany, France, Britain, Russia and China – signed the historic nuclear deal – formally named the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action [JCPOA] – which was ratified in the form of UN Security Council Resolution 2231.

However, the US under Trump unilaterally pulled out of the JCPOA in May 2018 and reinstated the anti-Iran sanctions that had been lifted by the deal.

The Trump administration also launched what it called a maximum pressure campaign against Iran, targeting the Iranian nation with the “toughest ever” restrictive measures that Iran has condemned as "economic terrorism".

Trump’s maximum pressure has been met with Iran's “maximum resistance” policy, which includes economic measures to weather the pressure as well as reducing Tehran's commitments under the JCPOA.