Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says much of America’s undue economic influence will be taken away if countries stop using the US dollar in their international transactions.
“America’s power rests on the dollar; a great part of America’s economic power will go away if countries eliminate the dollar from their economic systems,” Foreign Minister Zarif said at an event dubbed “My Mission” at a high school in Tehran on Sunday.
US President Donald Trump has been attempting to exert economic pressure on Iran ever since he withdrew from a multilateral deal with the country. While Iran has been internationally verified to uphold its obligations, it has undergone the US pressures mainly because America has forced its trade partners — who use the US dollar — to stop or cut back on their own trade with Iran.
But the Islamic Republic is not the only country to face such pressure. Russia and China have been subjected either to US sanctions or unfair trade practices.
On Friday, President Vladimir Putin of Russia and President Xi Jinping of China voiced unanimous concern about “inequalities” in the global economic system, a reference to the US dominion. President Putin specifically called for the elimination of the US dollar from international trade.
In his Sunday’s remarks, Zarif reiterated that labeling and said the US was trying to pile up pressure on Iran “out of desperation.”
