TEHRAN – An international affairs expert believes the U.S. cannot drive Iran’s oil exports to zero and it won’t also be able to push Iran toward an internal crisis.

Mohammad Ali Basiri said due to numerous reasons, Iran would be able to manage the crisis and reduce the impacts of U.S. sanctions, ISNA reported on Saturday.

Basiri also dismissed the notion of talks, saying holding dialogue with the U.S. government at the current situation would be “very humiliating” for Tehran.

He pointed out that Iran has 15 neighbors which can help it circumvent the sanctions. “Iran has a long history of fighting sanctions.”

“Today, there are no multilateral sanctions and only unilateral sanctions of the U.S. exist,” he said.

On April 22, the United States said it would stop waivers for countries buying Iranian oil, in an attempt to push Iran’s oil exports to zero. On April 8, the U.S. also blacklisted Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization.

Efforts by the Trump administration to isolate Iran politically and economically began with last year’s U.S. withdrawal from the nuclear deal it and other world powers negotiated with Iran in 2015.

MH/PA