Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif warned that the United States' provocative behavior will prompt a backlash.
He said US President Donald Trump's threat of sanctions against European countries continuing to do business in Iran is "unprecedented," comparing his behavior to that of a "bully."
He also said it's "still a possibility" that Iran could restart its nuclear program, adding that Trump has now isolated the US by pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal.
However, Zarif acknowledged the impact of the US administration's moves on Iran's economic relations, saying that the withdrawal of European companies from Iran "is due to their fear of punishment by the United States."
In an interview with CBS on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meetings on Sunday, Zarif said the US continues to push allies to act in a "lawless way.”
“The United States is asking countries to violate international law and is telling countries and companies that if they observe the law they'll be punished,” he added.
Trump has previously threatened that "anyone doing business with Iran will not be doing business with the US."
“This policy is going to have a backlash. The international community is not going to accept somebody to come and just [give] orders," the FM said.
Earlier on Saturday, Zarif said in a speech in the headquarters of the Iranian embassy in the UN that if Europe's special mechanisms fail to work, Iran will leave the nuclear deal.
Countries are starting to make agreements to use their own currencies in bilateral trade, Zarif was quoted as saying.
He went on to say that Iran plans to get around the US sanctions on its oil exports by conducting trade in currencies other than the US dollar, adding, “the actual mechanism would be to avoid dollars.”
Zarif’s remarks came few days after EU Council President Donald Tusk reiterated that the group will uphold the Iran agreement "as long as Iran remains fully committed to it,” according to Bloomberg.
