TEHRAN (Dispatches) – Iran’s Foreign Minister Muhammad Javad Zarif on Friday censured the new U.S. administration for pursuing former president Donald Trump’s "maximum pressure” amid the deadly coronavirus pandemic.
In a post on his Twitter account, Zarif published the image of a 6.5-year-old Iranian girl affected by U.S. sanctions, and a letter written by her and addressed to the United States.
"This is a little girl who’s paid the price for cruel & inhumane choices of politicians far away. Her situation isn’t unique in Iran. Even amid COVID-19, the U.S. continues to exert Trump’s failed ‘maximum pressure’ on Iranians,” he wrote.
"Isn’t it time to try something that may actually work?”
Trump’s maximum pressure has been met with Iran’s "maximum resistance” policy, which includes economic measures to weather the pressure as well as reducing Tehran’s commitments under a 2015 nuclear agreement.