TEHRAN, Aug. 6 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Monday that U.S. seeks to create chaos in Iran by reinstating sanctions.
U.S. first anti-Iran sanctions have targeted the country's civil aviation industry, Zarif was quoted as saying by Tasnim news agency.
Zarif mentioned the international supports for Iran nuclear deal, saying only the United States and a few allies are against the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
"The United States, Israel and Saudi Arabia have been isolated in the international community, and have spent millions of dollars to misrepresent the reality through media propaganda," he stressed.
In the meantime, Iran's Interior Ministry announced that foreign sources are to blame for violent anti-government unrest over economic situation of the country recently, according to Press TV report on Monday.
The calls for protest rallies, under the guise of protests against economic woes, in Iran over the past month originated from outside of the country, Interior Ministry spokesman, Salman Samani, was quoted as saying.
The official said that "only a handful of people were influenced by such propaganda and attended unlawful protests in a few cities."
The main elements provoking unrest in Iran were mostly individuals, or groups that do not care about the economic problems and only "seek to foment chaos by taking advantage of the conditions regarding the price hikes and livelihood problems," Samani said.
The Iranian spokesman noted that efforts are underway to control the protests and handle the situation with "minimum tensions and through dialogue."
According to Press TV, protests were held in the Iranian cities of Shiraz, Isfahan, Ahvaz and Karaj over the past few days against economic conditions. The protests have been largely described as peaceful without any major instance of violence.
After U.S. President Donald Trump's withdrawal from the Iranian nuclear agreement in May, Washington is trying to bring sanctions back on Iran with the aim of blocking Iran's international financial transaction and reducing its oil exports to zero.
Trump on Monday signed first part of the sanctions to snap back on Monday. These sanctions target Iran's automotive sector, and trade in gold and other key metals.
The remaining sanctions will be re-imposed on Nov. 4, which will target Iran's energy sector and petroleum-related transactions, and transactions with the Central Bank of Iran.
