US ‘in mental war on Iranians’

GENEVA: America is waging a psychological war against Iran and its business partners, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said yesterday, according to the Tasnim news agency.

“(America’s) focus is on a psychological war against Iran and its business partners,” Zarif said.

President Donald Trump pulled the US out of a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers in May and is reimposing sanctions on Tehran. Other parties to the accord are trying to find ways to save the agreement.

Trump’s decision to withdraw from the accord had hurt the US, Zarif said, according to the Iranian Students’ News Agency.

“From the time that Trump announced the withdrawal from the nuclear deal, America has not been able to reach its goals,” Zarif said.

Washington aims to force Tehran to end its nuclear programme and its support of militant groups in Syria and Iraq.

Zarif also said the nuclear deal had led to political conflict within Iran.

“There are some in the country who, instead of laying the groundwork for using the opportunities presented by the nuclear deal, chose a political fight,” Zarif said.

“And this political fight has led to despair and disappointment.”

Hardline critics of the deal have lashed out at Iranian President Hassan Rouhani after America’s withdrawal, claiming the agreement was a form of capitulation.