TEHRAN – Vice President Es’haq Jahangiri said on Saturday that the U.S. intended to bring about the collapse of the Islamic Republic and even Iran with its “maximum pressure” policy.

“Their minimal goal was the collapse of the Iranian economy but today they have reached the conclusion that they should pressure Iran into negotiating table,” Jahangiri said during a ceremony to introduce the new Education Minister Mohsen Haji-Mirzaee, IRNA reported.

He also said the U.S. exerted pressure on even Iran’s friends in order to reduce Tehran’s oil exports.

Jahangiri said that the U.S. was a signatory to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which was endorsed by the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231, but it unilaterally pulled out of it.

He added that the U.S. started an unequal war in March 2018, when it restored the sanctions.

Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council plus Germany signed an agreement in 2015, according to which Iran agreed to limit its nuclear program in exchange for lifting sanctions.

However, since U.S. President Donald Trump assumed office, he did anything in his power to derail other countries’ efforts to preserve the JCPOA and finally, on May 8, 2019, he withdrew the U.S. from the accord.

Much of the international community has voiced strong opposition to the U.S. move and warned of its ramifications for the region and the world.

A year after the U.S. pullout from the JCPOA, Iran started to take steps at 60-day intervals to reduce its commitments to the deal. So far, Tehran has taken three steps in that regard.

Tehran says its reciprocal measures will be reversible as soon as Europe finds practical ways to shield the Iranian economy from unilateral U.S. bans.

MH/PA