FM: US Should Stop Economic War against Iran to Deescalate Tensions in Region

"The only way to ease tensions in the region is stopping the economic war. You may not expect that an economic war be launched against the ordinary people in Iran and then those who have launched the war and supported it remain safe. We believe that Germany and Europe can play an important role in this regard to stop the war and we welcome that role," Zarif told reporters in a joint press conference with his German counterpart Heiko Maas in Tehran on Monday.

He also said that the problems in the Middle-East are rooted in Israel's aggressive policies and the US unlimited support for these crimes.

"The problem of our region is that the US has tried to violate the Palestinian people's rights with force and under the name of a new crime named 'Deal of Century'," Zarif said, referring to the occupation of the Golan Heights and holy Quds by Israel and Washington's support for them as a source of danger to the region.

He referred to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's threats to annihilate Iran while he was standing beside Dimona, one of Israel's centers to produce nuclear weapons, and warned that the regime is a source of danger to the region.

In relevant remarks last Monday, Zarif had also blasted the US for applying "economic terrorism" against his country, warning that ordinary people and patients in Iran were suffering from it.

Zarif posted a video on his official Twitter page, showing a "little boy whose heartbroken mother can't get him prosthetic legs as he grows", and emphasized that innocent civilians were being targeted by sanctions and economic terrorism applied to Iran by Washington.

"This is @realDonaldTrump's 'economic war'. And war and talks—with or without preconditions—don't go together," he underlined.

Zarif's remarks came a day after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Washington is keen to hold negotiations with Iran "with no preconditions" amid the intensification of tensions between the two countries.

Addressing a news conference in Switzerland earlier in the day, Pompeo said, "We are prepared to engage in a conversation with no preconditions. We are ready to sit down with them."

In reaction to Pompeo's statements, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Abbas Mousavi said a game of words by the United States was not important to Iran, but the Islamic Republic expected a change in Washington’s general approach to the Iranian nation.

"For the Islamic Republic of Iran, a game of words and expressing covert goals under the guise of new words is not a criterion for action, but a change in the United States’ general approach and practical stance toward the Iranian nation is the criterion,” he said.