Trump reimposes sanctions on Iran for its ‘malign activities’
Iranian president says US is waging ‘psychological warfare’ against his country, while EU says the move is ‘deeply regretted’
The Trump administration on Monday announced it was reimposing harsh economic sanctions on Tehran as part of a strategy to curb Iran’s ability to build a nuclear bomb.
Iranian President Hassan Rowhani said in response that Washington’s call for new nuclear negotiations at the same time as it reimposes crippling sanctions “doesn’t make sense” and is an attempt at “psychological warfare”.
“If you’re an enemy and you stab the other person with a knife and then you say you want negotiations, then the first thing you have to do is remove the knife,” he said in an interview on state television.
It was his first response to US President Donald Trump’s offer of talks on a new deal to replace a 2015 pact he abandoned in May, and came as Iran braces for the return of sweeping US sanctions on Tuesday.
“They want to launch psychological warfare against the Iranian nation,” Rowhani said. “Negotiations with sanctions doesn’t make sense.”
