TEHRAN (Dispatches) -- British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt visited Iran for the first time on Monday for talks about the conflict in Yemen and other issues.
It was the first visit to Tehran by a Western foreign minister since the United States withdrew from the multi-nation nuclear deal in May.
Hunt met his counterpart, Foreign Minister Muhammad Javad Zarif, and they discussed plans to keep trade flowing in spite of renewed U.S. sanctions, according to the ISNA news agency.
But Hunt was particularly focused on the conflict in Yemen. "We are very, very keen to move towards peace in Yemen. That's our number one priority at the moment," he told the BBC.
Britain is determined to keep Iran in the nuclear deal, technically known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
Iran's patience has been tested by Europe's slow progress in finding ways to work around U.S. sanctions.
"If Europe thinks that the JCPOA is important for its sovereignty, security and credibility, it must be ready to pay for it," Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told ISNA.
"The price of losing the JCPOA is greater for Europe than the U.S.," he added.
Zarif said Iran will not only survive newly reimposed U.S. sanctions but it will thrive.
The Trump administration announced sanctions this month covering banking, oil exports and shipping against Iran.
Speaking after meeting Hunt, the Iranian foreign minister said: "We are used to pressure and we are used to resisting pressure. Sanctions always hurt and they hurt ordinary people, but sanctions seldom change policy, and that has been the problem with U.S. sanctions all the time. They do not take people back to the negotiating table. In fact, they strengthen the resolve to resist.
"We will certainly survive. We will not only survive – we will thrive. We have tried to minimize the impact on the population but the ordinary people are going to suffer, the economy is going to suffer.”
Speaking to the Guardian, Zarif said he was confident the Iranian oil industry would find markets, even though the U.S. measures have pushed down exports sharply. "There are always markets for oil, it depends on the conditions and the price,” he said. "I believe Iran will always sell oil.”
Zarif also challenged claims by the U.S. secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, that the sanctions had been constructed to exempt humanitarian supplies, such as food and medicine.
"The U.S. has imposed financial sanctions on Iran,” he said. "When you want to transfer money, the bank does not ask whether it goes for food or other data-x-items – that is why sanctions always hit food and medicine.
"The U.S. is not living up to its promises. We believe all sanctions are unlawful, and against UN security council resolutions, but the U.S. is not even truthful to the commitment they have made.”
Zarif said Iran was frustrated by the slow pace of EU moves to help European companies that want to continue trading with Iran.
A clearing house known as a special purpose vehicle, designed to allow European companies that trade with Iran to bypass the sanctions, is due to be set up within the next few months. It has been seen as critical to reassuring Tehran that the EU wishes to reward Iran for signing the 2015 deal on its nuclear program by expanding business with the country.
"What is important is that Europe has made the political commitment but, unfortunately, so far as practicabilities are concerned, it has been very slow,” Zarif said. "Hunt gave me commitment that the UK believes in the nuclear deal, but we also need to see some action.”
On Yemen, Zarif said his country had been pushing for a ceasefire for years.
"The humanitarian nightmare cannot continue,” he said. "All the Yeminis are prepared to come to the negotiating table provided the (Saudi-led) coalition enables them to do so.”