Local Editor

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo claimed Washington’s tough sanctions against the Islamic Republic are aimed at giving the Iranian people a chance to have better lives.

"The sanctions on Iran have this ultimate goal: creating an outcome where the Iranian people can have better lives than they have today," Pompeo told Newsmax TV on Thursday.

The US administration announced on November 5 the re-imposition of the “toughest” sanctions ever against Iran's banking and energy sectors with the aim of cutting off its oil sales and crucial exports.

The bans had been lifted under the 2015 nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action [JCPOA].

While the US claims the bans do not target civilians and ordinary people, they are actually hampering the import of food and medicine to the country, endangering the lives of millions of patients in Iran.

Pompeo earlier told BBC Persian that Iranian officials must listen to Washington "if they want their people to eat."

“We have provided, we have accommodated the Iranian people with our sanctions, and it’s now the Iranian government’s responsibility to make sure that they do the right thing…It’s their job to do the right thing for their people,” he claimed.

In response, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Pompeo’s open threat to starve the Iranian nation was "a crime against humanity" and "a desperate attempt to impose US whims on Iran."

"Like his predecessors, he'll also learn that—in spite of US efforts—Iran will not just survive but advance w/out sacrificing its sovereignty," Zarif said.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team