TEHRAN – Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has told U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that Iran “will not just survive but advance” in spite of the harsh U.S. sanctions.

Zarif said Iran will achieve this goal without compromising its sovereignty.

“#WeWontForget @SecPompeo openly threatening to starve Iranians—a crime against humanity—in a desperate attempt to impose U.S. whims on Iran. Like his predecessors, he’ll also learn that—in spite of U.S. efforts—Iran will not just survive but advance w/out sacrificing its sovereignty,” Zarif tweeted on Saturday.

In an interview with BBC Persian on Wednesday, Pompeo said Iranian officials must listen to Washington “if they want their people to eat.”

In May, U.S. President Donald Trump officially withdrew Washington from the 2015 nuclear deal, officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and ordered sanctions on Iran. The first round of sanctions went into force on August 6 and the second round, which targets Iran’s oil exports and banks, were announced on November 4.

NA/PA