“As regards restrictions on Iranian exports, we support Iran and we believe that the sanctions are unlawful; they have not been approved by the UN,” Novak told CNBC.
The energy minister added that he did not think Iran should be considered as the cause of the unstable situation in the region.
“These steps seriously destabilize the situation, not only in Iran, upon whom the sanctions have been imposed, but, as we can all see, in the entire region around the Persian Gulf,” he said Tuesday.
Tensions between the US and Iran have escalated in recent weeks. While the US President Donald Trump accused Tehran of being behind two attacks on oil tankers in the Persian Gulf region, Iran has vehemently denied any involvement, calling the US presence in the region and its economic terrorism against the country as the root cause of the tensions.
KI