Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif admitted that reimposed US economic sanctions against Iran were hitting hard, but said that the Tehran regime will not be changing its destabilizing behavior anytime soon.
“It is obvious that we are facing pressure by the US sanctions. But will that lead to a change in policy? I can assure you it won’t,” Zarif told the Doha Forum policy conference in Qatar.
“If there is an art we have perfected in Iran and can teach to others for a price, it is the art of evading sanctions,” he added.
Although the US has put so much pressure on Iran over the past 40 years, it has managed to survive, Zarif said.
Meanwhile, commander of the Iranian Air Force General Yousef Qorbani acknowledged the impact of the sanctions and was quoted by Deutsche German news agency Presse-Agentur (DPA) as saying: “Today we are living under the difficult conditions of the embargo…We have to work for launching an industrial renaissance in spare parts manufacturing. "
Qorbani’s remarks were given at a forum joining Iranian air forces and defense industry companies.
In its World Economic Outlook released late on October 8, the International Monetary Fund said Iran's oil-driven economy is expected to shrink by 1.5 percent this year as a result of declining oil exports, with the drop in economic output accelerating to 3.6 percent in 2019.
US President Donald Trump withdrew his country in May from the 2015 multilateral Iran nuclear agreement, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and decided to reimpose unilateral sanctions against Tehran earlier this year over its malicious behavior.
