US Must Stop ‘Economic War’ on Iranian People

As the UN Security Council met behind closed doors, Takht Ravanchi told reporters that the United States must stop "its economic war against the Iranian people".

"You cannot start a dialogue with somebody who is threatening you, who is intimidating you," he said, AFP reported.

"The atmosphere of such a dialogue is not ready yet."

The ambassador spoke a few hours after the United States announced a raft of new sanctions that target the office of Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, Iran's foreign minister and senior commanders of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC).

The US Treasury also said it plans to blacklist Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.

"As long as this threat is there, there is no way that Iran and the US can start a dialogue," said the ambassador.

Takht Ravanchi renewed an appeal for talks with regional countries on improving security and said he had asked the United Nations to play a role in promoting such a forum.

The Security Council was meeting at the request of the United States after Iran last week shot down a US spy drone that had ventured into Iran’s airspace.

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