Iran's Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi says the extension of US unilateral sanctions on Iran is part of Washington's efforts to protect its supremacy, Press TV reports.
The US move to extend its unilateral sanctions on Iran by one year is aimed at waging psychological warfare against the Islamic Republic in a bid to preserve its power and dominance, Salehi said in an interview with Khabar Online on Tuesday.
“These sanctions are unilateral and the United States has been repeating the decision for 32 consecutive years and this is not new,” the Iranian top diplomat added.
Salehi's remarks came after US President Barack Obama on March 8 described Iran as “an unusual and extraordinary threat” and extended by one year a national emergency with regard to the Islamic Republic.
"Because the actions and policies of the government of Iran continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States, the national emergency declared on March 15, 1995, must continue in effect beyond March 15, 2011," said Obama in a notice.
The national emergency bans US companies from contributing to Iran's oil industry, having trade exchanges or making investments in the country.
The Iranian foreign minister touched upon the world public opinion about US unilateralism, saying Washington cannot get back its lost grandeur through illogical and violent measures.
The senior Iranian official recalled the latest developments in the region and the Islamic awakening, which has fueled the Middle East revolution and toppled two long-time rulers of Tunisia and Egypt.
Salehi stressed that the Islamic awakening was the “beginning of the path,” which he said would engulf the whole world.
Since December, a wave of political unrest has swept across North Africa and Middle East, where suppressed nations have been demanding political reforms and an end to their despotic regimes.
Currently, demonstrators in the Shia-majority Bahrain are demanding the ouster of the 230-year-old Sunni-led monarchy as well as constitutional reforms, with hundreds camping out peacefully in the capital's Pearl Square since February 14.
