Iran Calls on US to Drop ‘Its Addiction to Sanctions’ 

TEHRAN, IRAN - Iran urged the United States on Saturday to stop using sanctions against the Islamic republic and accused U.S. President Joe Biden of following the same "dead end" policies as his predecessor, Donald Trump. 

Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh made his remarks a day after the U.S. Treasury announced financial sanctions against four Iranians accused of planning the kidnapping in the U.S. of an American journalist of Iranian descent.  "Washington must understand that it has no other choice but to abandon its addiction to sanctions and show respect, both in its statements and in its behavior, towards Iran," Khatibzadeh said in a press release.  Under Trump's presidency, Washington unilaterally withdrew from the 2015 nuclear agreement between Tehran and major world powers. The multilateral deal offered Iran relief from sanctions in return for curbs on its nuclear program. It was torpedoed by Trump's decision to withdraw the United States from it in 2018.