TEHRAN — Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has reminded his American counterpart, Mike Pompeo, about the failure of U.S. sanctions against Iran under his term, which have even targeted U.S. companies.

“@SecPompeo Your own restrictions actually sanctioned US companies out of Iran's market with its unparalleled natural & human resources,” Zarif tweeted on Thursday.

“And your illicit #MaximumFailure policy cancelled Boeing's contract for 88 civilian aircraft—costing Iranian lives, but also American jobs,” he added.

It came after Pompeo claimed that Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has become infinitely poorer under the Trump administration.

“The [IRGC] is infinitely poorer than it would have been had the administration’s policies before us stayed in place,” the U.S. secretary of state said in an interview with Washington Examiner.

“That money is not in their hands,” he said, adding, “To back and reward the Iranians? To give them any economic relief? To allow the French or British to trade there? Remember, even during the [Iran deal], American businesses weren’t permitted to trade there. How bizarre is that?”

The Trump administration has pursued a policy of maximum pressure against Tehran since 2018, after it withdrew the U.S. from the Iran nuclear deal, officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which was signed under the administration of Barack Obama.

Trump’s withdrawal came while Iran was in full compliance with the treaty. All other parties to the deal have repeatedly criticized the Trump administration’s policy toward Iran.

Tehran says the United States’ maximum pressure campaign has evolved into a “maximum failure” for that country.

Tehran has also described the U.S. sanctions as “economic terrorism” and “medical terrorism” on various occasions, citing the high number of deaths since the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak in Iran as a direct result of the illegal sanctions.

In an interview with Russia Today in September, Zarif said Washington’s efforts to stop Tehran from exporting oil have limited the government’s ability to respond to the global health crisis and provide relief to the Iranian people.

Iran also has “quite a bit of money stashed in countries abroad,” he said, adding that the U.S. has prevented Tehran from gaining access to these funds, even to buy medicine.

“Whatever the Americans are saying about their sanctions not affecting humanitarian items, it’s just a lie... It’s basically medical terrorism,” he added.

MH/PA