“Same nonsense.” Iran’s Foreign Ministry highlights its minister’s response to Rubio and compares it to the statements of his predecessor, Pompeo.

On Wednesday, the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs highlighted the response of its Minister, Abbas Araqchi, to his American counterpart, Marco Rubio, comparing his statements to those of his predecessor, Mike Pompeo, in which he addressed the economic pressures on Iran and what this sanctions policy will lead to. The Iranian Foreign Ministry re-published Araqchi’s post, saying: “Araqchi responds to Rubio: Rubio is repeating the same nonsense that Pompeo said 8 years ago that if Iranians want food, they must obey the White House.”

Araqchi continued in his blog post, saying: “Regardless of the inhumanity of this policy, such illusions and false ideas are what lead to the failure of American policies.” Pompeo had said in previous statements in 2018 that his country would reimpose economic sanctions on Iran and impose additional sanctions, describing them as “the strongest in history,” and stressing the need to change Iranian policy in order to lift the sanctions on Tehran. Pompeo indicated at the time that Iran would have two options: either turn inward and try to preserve the economy or waste wealth on foreign battlefields, stressing that it would not be able to do both.