Iran's Supreme Leader Says 'Overcoming' US Sanctions More Effective Than Negotiating

Mohammad Ali (@ChaudhryMAli88) Published November 24, 2020 | 08:40 PM

Iran will opt for overcoming US sanctions after years of futile attempts to get them lifted, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said on Tuesday

TEHRAN (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 24th November, 2020) Iran will opt for overcoming US sanctions after years of futile attempts to get them lifted, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said on Tuesday.

"There are two ways to tackle sanctions: 1) removing sanctions 2) nullifying and overcoming them. We tried the 1st option, removing sanctions, by negotiating for a few years, but to no use. The 2nd option may have difficulties in the beginning but will have a favorable end," Khamenei said during a meeting of the heads of the three branches of government, as quoted by his official website.

According to Khamenei, the US will gradually abandon the sanctions as soon as it sees their ineffectiveness.

The supreme leader of Iran spoke about sanctions for the first time after the US presidential elections and the projected victory of Joe Biden.

Biden's victory resurrected the possible return of the United States to the nuclear deal.

In 2015, Iran signed the Joint Comprehensive Action Plan (JCPOA) with the United States, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United Kingdom. It required Iran to scale back its nuclear program and severely downgrade its uranium reserves in exchange for sanctions relief, including lifting the arms embargo five years after the deal's adoption.

In 2018, US President Donald Trump abandoned the landmark deal and implemented hard-line policies against Tehran. Since Trump's decision to leave the JCPOA, tensions between the US and Iran have escalated, with Iran announcing that it would no longer follow the 2015 nuclear deal.