US new sanctions politically motivated: Rouhani

He made the remarks in a phone talk with Governor of Central Bank of Iran Abdolnaser Hemmati on Friday, saying that US new sanctions are politically motivated and aim at serving their own internal purposes.

Referring to US miscalculation in withdrawing from the JCPOA, he added, “The US government, based on a misguided analysis, believed that these sanctions would crush Iran's resistance and cause us trouble, but time has indicated that this analysis is far from the truth and has been ineffective.”

Pointing to US failure to activate the Trigger Mechanism, he underlined that these US moves are completely against international law and regulations and are considered inhumane amid the spread of coronavirus.

Hemmati further emphasized that the US government has created serious obstacles in the transfer of currency for the supply of medicine and food, however, due to the efforts of the Central Bank, there has been no shortage in this regard.

These remarks came as US Treasury Department imposed new sanctions on 18 Iranian banks in a hostile move on Thursday. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also claimed that US maximum pressure on the Islamic Republic will continue until Iran returns to the negotiating table.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif also reacted to new US sanctions on Iranian banks and maintained that the country seeks to blow up Iran’s remaining channels to pay for food and medicine amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

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