Europe

Iran dismisses new US pressure, calls for 'mutual respect'

Associated Press
Published | Updated

Iran Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif speaks on the last day of the Munich Security Conference in Munich, southern Germany, Sunday, Feb. 18, 2017. (Matthias Balk//dpa via AP) (The Associated Press)

Iran Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif speaks on the last day of the Munich Security Conference in Munich, southern Germany, Sunday, Feb. 18, 2017. (Matthias Balk//dpa via AP) (The Associated Press)

Saudi Arabia's foreign minister, Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir, speaks on the last day of the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, Sunday Feb. 19, 2017. (Matthias Balk/dpa via AP) (The Associated Press)

Iran's foreign minister is brushing aside new pressure from the United States, declaring that his country is "unmoved by threats" but responds well to respect.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly criticized the 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran, the U.S. and five other world powers. His administration said Iran was "on notice" over a recent ballistic missile test, and imposed new sanctions on more than two dozen Iranian companies and individuals.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif mocked "the concept of crippling sanctions" as he spoke Sunday at the Munich Security Conference.

He said: "Iran doesn't respond well to threats. We don't respond well to coercion. We don't respond well to sanctions, but we respond very well to mutual respect. We respond very well to arrangements to reach mutually acceptable scenarios."