US administration had announced this month that it would stop granting exemptions to countries that import Iranian oil.
Javad Zarif warned that national security adviser John Bolton, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabian King Mohammad bin Salman are “dragging the United States into a conflict” with Iran.
“I do not believe that President Trump wants to do that, I believe President Trump ran on a campaign promise of not bringing the United States into another war,” Zarif told Chris Wallace. “But I believe President Trump’s intention to put pressure the policy of maximum pressure on Iran in order to bring Iran to its knees so that we would succumb to pressure is doomed to failure.”
“WE PUT MAXIMUM PRESSURE ON PURPOSE”
Bolton appeared with Wallace on Sunday to respond to Zarif’s accusations. He dismissed the foreign minister’s comments as “completely ridiculous,” arguing that Zarif’s remarks were a “carefully prepared propaganda script.”
“It’s completely ridiculous. I think what that interview showed was a carefully prepared propaganda script by the Iranians,” Bolton said. “This is their effort to try and sow disinformation and the American body politic. The fact is the president’s policy on Iran has been clear well before I arrived in the administration. It is to put maximum pressure on the regime to get it to change its behavior.” he added.