Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif slammed the US “economic war” against Iran after Washington reimposed sanctions on the country a year ago.
“The Americans have turned their dollar into a weapon of the economic war,” Zarif told CNN’s Farid Zakaria in an interview that was broadcast last Wednesday.
“This will have mid-term and long-term negative impacts on the influence of dollar in international trade,” he added in the interview that was aired on Sunday on CNN.
“You see that many US allies are distancing themselves from using dollar and are using their own national currencies. Last year, Iran and Turkey used their national currencies for 35% of their trade volume and other countries are following suit,” Zarif told Zakaria at the residence of Iran's ambassador to the UN.
The US curbed the movement of the Iranian delegation in the US as Zarif and other Iranian officials were in New York to attend a high-profile UN meeting on sustainable development.
“As you know, there is no place for dollar in Shanghai International Energy Exchange,” he added, noting that dollar is being used as a weapon by the US.
The Iranian foreign minister said that "there is a war going on right now. It's an economic war -- an economic war against Iran targets civilian population."
Zarif noted that President Donald Trump is on the record saying "that he is not engaged in military war, but in an economic war." He added that "economic war is nothing to be proud of, because in a military confrontation, civilians may become collateral damage, but in an economic war, civilians are the primary targets."
Iran crude sales
The Iranian foreign diplomacy chief said Tehran will find a way to sell its oil despite the US sanctions.
“We will sell our oil. It’s a national secret to whom and how we sell it otherwise the US would stop it,” he told the CNN, stressing that the global oil market can’t stay alive without Iranian crude.
Disaster
Asked by Zakaria about the possibility of a war with the US, Zarif said, "you cannot simply disregard a possibility of a disaster." Zarif noted that in 1988, a US warship in the Persian Gulf shot down an Iranian civilian airliner, killing all 290 passengers.
“We are in control of the Strait of Hormuz. We have 1,500 miles of coastline with the Persian Gulf,” he added.
The Iranian top diplomat stressed that the waterway can’t be safe for some and unsafe for others, referring to the US sanctions on exports of Iranian oil.
US movement curbs for Iran mission to UN employees
Before Zarif arrived in New York last week, the US limited the movement of Zarif and other employees of the Iranian mission to the UN to a six-block radius around the mission.
“This is inhumane. I’ve seen the US when I was a student here, I don’t need to see it again. But, children of our mission employees can’t go to school. This is unacceptable,” he protested.
Zarif, who is now in Venezuela to attend the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) meeting, said US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo can talk to the Iranian media if he accepts their requests as he does.
The Iranian foreign minister noted that Trump doesn’t seek regime change in Iran, but warned that his circle wants so, referring to National Security Advisor John Bolton and some regional allies.
Zarif mentioned that Trump can’t complain about the nuclear deal and leave it because the governments represent the states. “This is not something to be negotiated again. If Trump says so, its their internal problem,” he said.
The Iranian foreign policy chief reiterated that Tehran won’t negotiate its defense capabilities, saying it would be a farce as the US keeps selling arms to the Persian Gulf countries.
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