The illegal sanctions of the US against Iran started on May 22, 1980. After the bomb blast in Beirut in 1984, Washington pointed its finger of accusation toward the Islamic Republic and this fake accusation provided another pretext for lengthening of the list of illegal sanctions against Iran. At that time, Iran's name was put in the list which was dubbed as sponsors of terrorism by the United States.

A few years later, the anti-Iran sanctions were expanded to the field of trade and investment. On April 30, 1995, Bill Clinton, then American president, announced that the he would exercise comprehensive embargos on foreign trade and investment in Iran. Thus, the anti-Iran and anti-Libya sanctions approved in 1996, were another hostile measure which targeted non-American companies' investment in Iran's energy sector.

In 2001, two new subjects were added to the scenario of sanctions against Iran. First, the announcement and imposition of economic sanctions against non-governmental persons and organs; and secondly, the expansion of smart sanctions. These measures were followed by stealing of Iran's properties. In the aftermath of the inside job of 9/11/2001, George W. Bush signed a bill which permitted seizure of the legal and real persons whom he considered as sponsors of terrorism. Later on, through mendacious claims on Iran's peaceful nuclear program, the UN Security Council issued 6 resolutions which gave the issue international dimensions. Those resolutions enabled the United States to further tighten its unilateral sanctions against the Islamic Republic.

As per the pressure and fake allegations of the US, the UNSC passed a new series of sanctions against Iran's peaceful nuclear program in 2006. In late 2011, the US banned the foreign financial companies and institutions from trade with the sanctioned Iranian banks and the Central Bank of the Islamic Republic. This scenario was supposed to be halted with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action and UNSC resolution 2231 on July 20, 2015. But within less than two years after JCPOA, Donald Trump described it as a bad agreement to find an excuse for persistence of the illegal sanctions. On May 8, 2018, Trump signed the order of the US's exit from JCPOA and refused to extend the order for suspension of nuclear sanctions so that the illegal unilateral sanctions would be imposed automatically against the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Owing to the broad political and commercial relations with different countries, the United States tried from the very beginning to coerce other countries to follow its anti-Iran sanctions. In view of this, the companies whose bulk of share belonged to the American investors were practically forced to follow the US sanctions. Plus, many of the big banks and economic institutions and insurance shipment companies, scared by the US retaliatory measures, followed the sanctions. Therefore, the hostile measures of the US against Iran have been taken in the regional and global levels. The global measures were focused on issues such as nuclear issue, fomenting Iranophobia and imposition of sanctions. Soft overthrowing from within is another part of the US strategy against the Islamic Republic.

Ayatollah Khamenei, speaking to a group of bright talents, reiterated, "The American system is the agent of the dangerous and malicious network of international Zionism; is the enemy of independent nations and the cause of most of wars in the region and the world; and, like a leech, sucks whatever nations have."

Donald Trump has continued the course of his predecessors in a more blatant manner. With his exit from JCPOA and his other stupid stances, Trump has proved that he has no realistic understanding of the past and present of the US and Iran. According to the Leader, the Islamic Republic was neither excited at the iron fist of Obama that he had hidden in velvet glove; nor will it be scared of the current threats and rhetoric of Trump. Iran's mistrust toward the US is not a mere motto but is based on US's past and present behavior and a realistic analysis of the American domineering objectives in the region and the world.

The US policy toward JCPOA can be summarized in one objective; namely, coercion of Iran to grant concessions to the US. But the Great Satan (United States) should have known from the past experiences that the Islamic Iran will not be entrapped by Washington.

Ayatollah Khamenei, in a letter to president Hassan Rohani, stressed, "The US government, either in the nuclear issue or any other issue, has not adopted except a hostile and obstructionist approach vis-à-vis Iran; and in future, too, it is unlikely to act otherwise. Pinning hope in the Great Satan, not being admonished from the non-commitment of the US and underestimation of one's own abilities; these are the three sides of a triangle which cause backwardness of a nation."

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution, in a meeting with a number of the families of martyrs, said, "The rhetoric of the American president is not a new issue as the Islamic system has been facing various plots; but the ill-wishers of the Iranian nation haven't been able to do a damned thing."

Referring to the braggadocio of the American officials on changing the Islamic system, Ayatollah Khamenei stressed, "Has there been a time when you haven't intended to change the Islamic system; but you have always been frustrated and this will be the same from now on."          

RM/ME