Iran Press/ Iran News: "We are not saying that sanctions have no effect. These have caused serious damage," Khatibzadeh said in response to Iran Press question at his weekly press conference on Monday.
"All US actions are due to the fact that every step they took did not succeed and now they have reached 'sanction madness'. This is a psychological war," he added.
Washington on Thursday targeted Iran’s financial sector by imposing sanctions on 18 Iranian banks, in defiance of Europe’s humanitarian objections.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) specified two of the targets as Iran’s Bank Maskan and Bank Keshavarzi. The former is relied on by the most significant part of the country’s 80-million-strong population for loans assisting them in buying houses, while the latter has the biggest stakes countrywide in the agricultural sector.
Bank Refah Kargaran, which is favored by the country’s laborers and technical workers, Bank Gharzolhasaneh Resalat, reputed for its small and low-interest loans, and entrepreneurship-focused Karafarin Bank were also among the financial institutions.
The spokesman also referred to Zarif and his British counterpart phone conversation and British debt to Iran and stated: "Britain has a definite debt to the Islamic Republic of Iran and every day that the repayment is postponed, the amount increases."
"Britain has to pay the debt and it has nothing to do with other issues including prisoners," Khatibzadeh said.
Regarding Nazanin Zaghari's case, the spokesman also explained: "Zaghari has a court order and our judiciary is completely independent, and she is serving her sentence term based on the court's conviction, although she is on furlough right now and it has its own procedure."
The Iranian official went on to say that the Foreign Ministry, along with other forces, including the judiciary, is trying to facilitate some matters.
Trump has isolated the United States, he said.
Arms embargo on Iran to be lifted on October 18
“Next week, on October 18, the arms embargo on Iran will be lifted, according to the Iran Nuclear Deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA),” Khatibzadeh said in his weekly press conference on Monday.
Five years after JCPOA's approval, this will happen, and this year is the fifth anniversary of the agreement, noted the spokesman, adding: “America's historic defeat will happen. Despite all the US’ tricks and extrajudicial actions, this country could not move forward and once again showed that it is not as powerful as it claims.”
Referring to Iran-China relations, he said Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif an “excellent and detailed meeting” during his trip to China on October 10.
"On October 7, the ambassadors of Syria and Japan bid farewell to Zarif at the end of their mission, and Iran’s top diplomat had a second telephone conversation with his Russian counterpart over Nagorno-Karabakh," Khatibzadeh added.
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