US waging economic terrorism against Iran through sanctions: Analyst

A political analyst says the United States is waging “economic terrorism” against Iran by imposing sanctions against the country, expressing doubt about the sincerity of American President Donald Trump’s calls for diplomacy between Washington and Tehran.

Michael Springmann, a Washington-based author and former US diplomat in Saudi Arabia, made the remarks on Press TV’s The Debate program on Wednesday.

“The United States is waging an economic warfare against Iran with its sanctions,” including those recently imposed on the country’s space program.

The political analyst referred to Washington’s hostility towards Iran over the four decades since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, saying, “Since 1997, the American government has done its best to make life miserable for the Iranian government and people and, to that end, they are increasing more sanctions on the country.”

Springmann criticized Trump for leaving a 2015 Iran nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), saying the US administration cannot be trusted to engage in any diplomatic process as it has killing existing international accords.

“He has withdrawn from the JCPOA, which was negotiated over a number of years, he has withdrawn from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty with Russia, which was negotiated for a couple of years and has been in force since 1987,” he added.

He censured Washington’s dual policies on Israel’s military nuclear capability, saying Americans “are ignoring the out-of-control Israeli apartheid identity with its nuclear weapons, with its space program, with its intercontinental ballistic missiles.”

PressTV-Zarif: US appetite for breaking law won’t stop at Iran deal

Foreign Minister Zarif of Iran warns that Europe must act to protect the 2015 nuclear deal otherwise the US will be emboldened to keep violating international law and kill more international deals.

“The administration of Donald Trump does not seek to engage in diplomatic resolution of any situation. It basically attempts to destroy Iran with whatever means possible,” he said.

He further censured the US’s duplicitous policies in dealing with Middle-Eastern states, specifically with Saudi Arabia, which been leading a brutal military campaign against Yemen for over four years.

“The United States does not deal realistically with Saudi Arabia when it is attempting to destroy Yemen and does not deal realistically” with Israel, he added.

The US is “simply trying to impose its will on other countries by fiat and if it cannot get its way with weapons and force, it will use the equivalent and economic sanctions, which is a way of destroying a country economically if not physically and culturally,” he said.

After unilaterally breaking with the 2015 nuclear deal, Washington has used sanctions and threats to stop what it called all Iranian oil exports.

Trump has, however, said he was ready for talks with Tehran over a new deal after his Iran policy failed to achieve its goal.

Tehran says it will not negotiate under pressure, and that the US must first lift its anti-Iran sanctions and begin respecting the Iranian nation’s rights before seeking any negotiations.

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