Zarif: Trump calls Iran terrorist to slash nation with sanctions
Tehran (KNA) - Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has hit out at United States President Donald Trump for calling Iran a "terrorist nation," saying the hackneyed accusation reveals Washington’s hostility towards Tehran is the real reason behind the illegal US sanctions against the country.
In a post on his official twitter account on Wednesday, Zarif also said American hawkish officials' dream of uprooting the Iranian nation would never come true.
In his remarks on Tuesday, Trump, who was answering questions about possible punishment for Saudi Arabia over the killing of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the kingdom's consulate in Istanbul last month, evaded a question about defending human rights with a short sentence and then abruptly switched the subject to Iran, calling the nation terrorist.
The US needs a "counterbalance" to Iran, "and Israel needs help, too," he said. "If we abandon Saudi Arabia, it would be a terrible mistake."
This is not the first time that Trump has called Iran a terrorist nation. The US president has also on numerous occasions accused Iran of sponsoring terrorism.
Iran rejects the accusations, saying as one of the world's biggest victims of terrorism, it has been fighting the menace and helping other countries in the global demand to uproot terror.
Source: PressTV