US sanctions unifies Iran’s political and military officials

Tabnak – At the same time as the US administration is tightening its grip over Iran’s international economic interactions, Iranian officials emphasize the country’s strong will to overcome the pressures. This, in fact, seems to be an area in which both military and diplomatic officials are on the same page and follow a similar path.

In this vein, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says the US’s renewed campaign of pressure and sanctions will only strengthen the Iranian nation’s “resolve to resist,” and that his country will even “thrive” under such restrictive measures. “We will certainly survive. We will not only survive – we will thrive,” Zarif was quoted by The Guardian as saying after meeting Jeremy Hunt on Monday.

Hunt was in Tehran for talks on a range of issues, including European efforts to protect the 2015 multinational nuclear deal – to which the UK is a signatory – following Washington’s unilateral withdrawal from the international document in May.

“We are used to pressure and we are used to resisting pressure. Sanctions always hurt and they hurt ordinary people, but sanctions seldom change policy, and that has been the problem with US sanctions all the time. They do not take people back to the negotiating table. In fact, they strengthen the resolve to resist,” Zarif added.

The comments echoed those by President Hassan Rouhani, who said Wednesday that Washington had failed in the first phase of its crackdown on Tehran’s oil sales after it granted waivers to the major buyers of Iranian crude.

Meanwhile and in the same vein, Iran’s defense minister says the American sanctions have failed to slow down the nation’s progress, and that the country will manage to prevail the conditions created by the bans at a fast pace.

“Today, we rely on indigenous capabilities,” Brigadier-General Amir Hatami said on Tuesday, noting that the country's current conditions are better compared to the situation before the re-imposition of the sanctions, IRNA reported. “We will overcome the conditions brought about by the sanctions faster and more easily,” he added.

“The enemy is trying to prevent us from using our resources, but, as we can see, great feats are being accomplished in the country every day,” the defense chief noted. “We witnessed at the United Nations that the US president was ridiculed. He, who was seeking to condemn Iran at the General Assembly, was himslef faced with objection,” Hatami said.

The US withdrawal and the sanctions have caused some difficulties for Iran and its other partners in the nuclear deal — namely the United Kingdom, France, Russia, China, Germany, and the European Union (EU) — but they are working to shield their trade relations and the deal from American sabotage.