Iran's Zarif says US has 'addiction to sanctions'

TEHRAN - Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif waded into the mounting row between Turkey and the United States on Saturday, accusing Washington of an "addiction to sanctions and bullying".

US President Donald Trump's "jubilation in inflicting economic hardship on its NATO ally Turkey is shameful," Zarif wrote on Twitter.

"The US has to rehabilitate its addiction to sanctions (and) bullying or entire world will unite -- beyond verbal condemnations -- to force it to," he warned.

"We've stood with neighbours before, and will again now."

Trump said Friday he was doubling steel and aluminium tariffs on Turkey as part of an ongoing row over the detention of American pastor Andrew Brunson and other issues.

The tensions have fuelled a run on the Turkish lira, which dropped 16 percent to a record low on Friday, with Trump tweeting that the currency was sliding "rapidly downward against our very strong Dollar!"

Iran has also suffered a major decline in its currency this year, in part due to the reimposition of US sanctions after Trump abandoned a landmark 2015 nuclear deal, with the rial losing around half its value against the dollar since April.

Zarif said there would be no meeting with the US in the near future following the return of sanctions.

Asked by the conservative Tasnim news agency if there was any plan to meet US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Zarif said: "No, there will be no meeting."

He said there were also no plans for a meeting with US officials on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York next month, which both Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and his US counterpart Donald Trump are due to attend.

"On Trump's recent proposal (of talks), our official stance was announced by the president and by us. Americans are not honest and their addiction to sanctions does not allow any negotiation to take place," Zarif told Tasnim.

It was Iran's most explicit rejection of talks to date, after much speculation that economic pressure would force its leaders back to the table with Washington.

The US reimposed sanctions on Tuesday, following its withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and major powers in May.

Zarif met repeatedly with then US secretary of state John Kerry during the agreement's negotiation and implementation.

Rouhani said last week that Iran "always welcomed negotiations" but that Washington would first have to demonstrate it can be trusted.

"If you're an enemy and you stab the other person with a knife and then you say you want negotiations, then the first thing you have to do is remove the knife."