Larijani, during a meeting early Monday with Wolfgang Gerstl, the head of the Austria-Iran parliamentary friendship group in Tehran, dismissed European leaders for supporting Iran only rhetorically and for “only [using words] to express regret at America’s actions", PressTV reported.
“Sure you might say there are problems because of US pressure and it might sound logical but we look at this from our own point of view and the most important thing for us is that this behaviour has raised questions about the EU’s credibility and it means that the EU lacks the weight to solve problems", he said.
Larijani noted that Europe has yet to fulfil the promises it made to Tehran to preserve the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) after a decision by US President Donald Trump to abandon it last year and reimpose sanctions on Iran, as well as warning Europeans against doing business with the Islamic Republic.
“The Europeans say the US is threatening the private sector", Larijani said. “Back then, they also said that they would come up with a clear mechanism for trade and oil in a few weeks but it has already been a year".
Larijani added that Europe had promised to complete transactions through France’s central bank but then switched to the Special Payment Vehicle (SPV) and finally set up INSTEX which “has had no benefits for us overall". He also suggested that Iran doesn’t need Europe’s help to counter the US.
“We will get even with America", he said, cited by Press TV. “They should know that they cannot keep doing this and pressure Iran and expect us to keep silent".
He added that the EU should not demand anything from Iran as the bloc has done nothing for the country.
“All in all, I think more serious developments are bound to happen and maybe it is better this way so that Trump comes back to his senses because some political leaders won’t start to understand unless they hit their heads hard against a stone", he said.
The Iranian speaker also criticised Austria for stopping oil imports from Iran following the Trump administration’s recent announcement that it would drive down Iran’s crude exports to zero.
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Earlier on Monday, Iranian First Vice President Es’haq Jahangiri said during a trip to the southern Iranian island of Kish in the Persian Gulf that America’s sanctions were “inhuman” and amounted to economic terrorism.
“Unlike their claims that the sanctions are aimed at putting the Iranian government under pressure, these bans target the Iranian nation and cause major problems in their lives", he said.