“minister of crimes”: Rouhani calls Pompeo

The fresh round of punitive measures, announced earlier this week by the Trump administration, targets 27 individuals and entities within Iran, taking aim at the country’s defense and nuclear industries. If found, their assets in the United States will be frozen, Americans will be barred from dealing with them, while foreign governments and companies engaging in transactions with those targeted may also be exposed to US penalties.

“The Americans recently inflicted tens of billions of dollars in damage on Iran,” President Hassan Rouhani exclaimed while talking to the nation on Saturday.

The fresh round of punitive measures, which he called “unjust, inhumane and terrorist operations” and “savagery” towards Iranians, have stopped medicines and food from coming into the Islamic Republic as it continues to battle the coronavirus pandemic, he said.

Rouhani further blasted US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, one of the bellwethers of the “maximum pressure” policy, who recently bragged about “denying Iran’s regime $70 billion in revenue.” The Iranian president minced no words, calling him “a gentleman whose [title] is the foreign minister but who is the minister of crimes.”