Sputnik - Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Wednesday claimed that the United States was attempting to starve the Iranian people by tightening economic sanctions against Tehran.

"Terrorism is not only an armed attack on citizens, starvation of 82 million Iranians is also a form of terrorism," Zarif said, aired by the Iranian television.

He also added that the United States' sanctions on Iran forced it to rely on its own people to produce the weapons they needed.

In late July, the US Treasury Department sanctioned Zarif as part of its maximum pressure policy on Iran amid escalating tensions between the two countries. The sanctions also targeted officials associated with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Iran's top nuclear negotiator Abbas Araqchi and EEAS Secretary General Helga Schmid attend a meeting of the JCPOA Joint Commission in Vienna, Austria July 28, 2019
Tensions between the United States and Iran have been growing since May 2018, when Washington abruptly pulled out of the landmark Iran nuclear deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

The move was followed by sanctions targeting Iran's defence, economy and aviation sectors, forcing Tehran to start discontinuing its nuclear obligations under the deal every 60 days.