Donald Trump wrong to think 'maximum pressure' campaign will break Tehran regime, says Iran foreign minister

In recent months, Iran has steadily violated the limitations the deal placed on the amount of enriched uranium and heavy water it can stockpile, the number and type of centrifuges it can operate, and the purity of the uranium it enriches. Munich: Iran’s foreign minister said Saturday that US President Donald Trump is receiving bad advice if he believes an American “maximum pressure” campaign against his country will cause the government in Tehran to collapse. Since then, the Trump administration’s re-imposition of US sanctions in a campaign of so-called “maximum pressure” have taken a severe toll on the Iranian economy and sent Iran’s currency plunging. “I believe President Donald Trump, unfortunately, does not have good advisers,” said Zarif said, adding “He’s been wanting for Iran to collapse since he withdrew from the nuclear deal.” Zarif also said the killing of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani in a US drone strike in Iraq on 3 January was a miscalculation by Washington that has galvanized support for Iran instead of increasing pressure on the regime. Washington has pressured the other countries – so far without success – to abandon the deal entirely US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said at the Munich Security Conference earlier on Saturday that while there may be disagreements on what to do with the JCPOA, “when I talk to my counterparts here in Europe, everybody gets it.” “Everyone understands that these are folks who continue to build out their nuclear program,” said Pompeo, adding, “So there’s a common understanding about the threat; we have tactical differences on how to proceed.” In recent months, Iran has steadily violated the limitations the deal placed on the amount of enriched uranium and heavy water it can stockpile, the number and type of centrifuges it can operate, and the purity of the uranium it enriches.