TEHRAN — The United States foreign policy decision-makers have done their best in vain to intervene in Iran’s internal affairs, Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi has said.

“US Foreign Policy team, have done their best in vain to intervene in Iran's internal affairs by raising fabricated and baseless issues with cheap literature, self-degrading in a way unprecedented in American history,” Mousavi said in a post on his Twitter account on Friday.

“The US misses an inst. with a strategic view on global issues,” he added.

The remarks came after U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s announcement of new sanctions against Iran on Thursday.

Pompeo claimed at the same time that “the United States has stood, and will stand under President Trump, for the Iranian people.”

Touching on Washington’s toughest-ever sanctions on Tehran, Pompeo said, “We do so for the sake of freedom, for the sake of human dignity, for the sake of respect.”

U.S. President Donald Trump has adopted a maximum pressure policy against Iran since he walked away from the JCPOA. The policy includes sanctions on Iran’s economy, especially its oil exports, and bans on top Iranian figures and organizations. At the same time, the U.S. president has pushed for talks with Tehran.

Iranian leaders have openly rejected the notion of talks with the U.S. as long as its illegal sanctions against Tehran are in place.

Tehran has described the U.S. sanctions as “economic war” and “economic terrorism”.

It also says sanctions on the central bank will prevent it to buy food and medicine.

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said last month that the United States’ sanctions and economic war on Iran have targeted the ordinary people’s health and livelihood.

“There was a time when such warfare was used to simply limit the activities of some countries. However, new warfare of the United States and what Trump has called the ‘economic war’ have targeted the ordinary people’s livelihood and health,” the chief diplomat lamented.

Earlier this month, Iranian Health Minister Saeed Namaki said the United States lies when it says pharmaceuticals and medical equipment are not subject to its sanctions list on Iran.

Namaki has also said the U.S. is exerting pressure on all pharmaceutical companies to stop the sale of medicine to Iran.

“They have put pressure on all our financial transactions regarding medicinal drugs and are exerting pressure on all pharmaceutical companies to stop the sale of medicines to us,” the health minister regretted.

MH/PA