TEHRAN – Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Thursday that Iran will never bow to sanctions pressure by the United States.

The remarks by Zarif comes as the U.S. has withdrawn from the 2015 nuclear agreement and reimposed the toughest ever sanctions under the policy of “maximum pressure” on Iran.

On April 22, it also announced that Washington is ending sanctions waiver on Iran’s oil export, threatening to drive Iran’s oil exports to zero by May 2. It threatened any country that buys oil from Iran will be punished.

 “We will find a way. We have [done that] for 40 years, and will [do so] now too,” Zarif told the Doha-based Al-Sharq newspaper on the sidelines of the Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) hosted by Qatar.

Acknowledging that the approach adopted by Iran to neutralize U.S. sanctions pressure is not easy, he said, “We will never accept pressures against our nation…We will never bow under pressures.”

However, Zarif said, Iran would welcome all those extending a hand of friendship towards it, according to Press TV.

Zarif attended the ministerial ACD summit on Wednesday, where he warned the participants about the “existential threat” that the United States’ unilateralism poses to the entire international community.

The “rising and aggressive unilateralist wave” threatens to affect the entire world, in which case, the rule of jungle would quickly replace the rule of law, Zarif told the delegates.

On a plan by the U.S. to label the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood movement as a “terrorist organization”, Zarif said, “The U.S. is supporting the biggest terrorist in our region, namely the Zionist regime [of Israel]. Therefore, Washington is in no position to designate others as terrorists either in word or in deed.”

Tehran condemns whatever action that Washington may take in this regard, Zarif added.

On April 8, the U.S. designated the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), a branch of Iran’s military, as terrorist.

Politicians and analysts say the designation against the IRGC, which has emerged as a strong force against ISIS in Iraq and Syria, as a gift to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who was facing reelection on April 9.

The Islamic Republic has gravely warned about the repercussions the move has for regional and international security, and reciprocally has designated American forces based in West Asia, known as the United States Central Command (CENTCOM), as terrorist.

Zarif added, “Whatever action that the U.S. has taken so far has been in line with sabotaging the region’s stability. I cannot even recall one instance, where the U.S. might have taken a step towards [contributing] to our region’s stability.”

PA/PA