New U.S. Sanctions an effort to stop Meds , Food purchases

“The President called the U.S. effort to create serious obstacles for fund transfers for the supply of medicine and food cruel, terrorist and inhumane,” IRIB said.

“Americans have so far done everything they could against the great Iranian nation and that by doing so, they cannot break the Iranian people’s resistance,” President Rouhani said in a telephone conversation with Governor of Central Bank of Iran (CBI) Abdolnasser Hemmati on Friday.

President Rouhani said that the U.S. government’s actions are within the framework of political propaganda and aimed at their own domestic goals.

He appreciated the efforts of the Central Bank of Iran in supplying the people’s basic needs.

The Iranian president called the U.S. moves and actions in continuation of Trump’s strategic mistakes in withdrawing from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and said that the U.S. government, in the wrong analytical framework, believed that these sanctions would break the Iranian resistance, but the passing of the time showed that this analysis was by far from reality and was inefficient.

Referring to the U.S. failures by repeating strategic errors like the snapback mechanism, Rouhani noted that “all nations know that these actions by the U.S. government are completely against international law and regulations, besides Washington’s actions are completely inhumane in the coronavirus pandemic era and human rights claimants on the world should condemn it”.

Meanwhile earlier, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif expressed certainty after a frenzy of U.S. sanctions target Iran’s banking sector that those starring in the leading and support roles of the inhumane anti-Iran show will eventually face justice.

“Amid Covid-19 pandemic, U.S. regime wants to blow up our remaining channels to pay for food & medicine,” Zarif tweeted on Thursday right after the United States Treasury Department levied the bans against as many as 18 Iranian banks. “Conspiring to starve a population is a crime against humanity,” he lamented.

The foreign minister, however, pledged that “Iranians WILL survive this latest of cruelties,” adding, “Culprits & enablers—who block our money—WILL face justice.”

The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) specified two of the targets as Iran’s Bank Maskan, and Bank Keshavarzi. The former is relied on by the biggest part of the country’s 80-million-strong population for loans assisting them to buy houses, while the latter has the biggest stakes countrywide in the agricultural sector.

Bank Refah Kargaran that is favored by the country’s laborers and technical workers, Bank Gharzolhasaneh Resalat that is reputed for its small and low-interest loans, and entrepreneurship-focused Karafarin Bank were three others of the financial institutions.

The rest of the sanctioned institutions were named as Pasargad Bank, Saman Bank, Sarmayeh Bank, Tose’e Ta’avon (Cooperative Development) Bank, Tourism Bank, and Amin Investment Bank.

The OFAC alleged that the relatively across-the-board measure was in line with the U.S.’ general policy of targeting the Iranian entities that “may” be used to support Iran’s nuclear program, missile program or, what it called, its “terrorist” activities and “malign regional influence.”

Meanwhile Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman blasted the latest round of U.S. sanctions against over a dozen Iranian banks, saying those who favor the Israeli prime minister’s interests over the Americans’ are luring the U.S. president into targeting ordinary Iranian people.

In a post on his Twitter account, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh referred to the Post report and said, “Frustrated by humiliating failures and futility of ‘maximum pressure’, Bibi-Firsters lure Trump into doubling down on inhumane targeting of ordinary Iranians.”

“The same gang has carelessly gambled with America’s interests and reputation for past 4 years. Once again, they’ll lose,” he added.

In defiance of Europe’s humanitarian objections, the U.S. Treasury Department announced sanctions on 18 Iranian banks on Thursday.

The Trump administration took the punitive action with an aim to cut off the Islamic Republic from the world’s financial system.

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