Iran vows to foil U.S. plots of hurting Iranian economy

TEHRAN, April 23 (Xinhua) -- Iranian petroleum minister said here on Monday that the Islamic republic would use all capacity to thwart the U.S. President Donald Trump's attempts to hurt the country's economy.

Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said "we would do anything needed to counter Trump" in case he decides to reimpose sanctions on Iran.

Iran waits for Trump's decisions on May 12 and would accordingly react to the U.S. policies, he said, adding that "we do not exclude any option."

Zanganeh made the remarks on the sidelines of a ceremony for signing an energy contract, referring to Trump's possible decision to withdraw from the Iranian nuclear deal.

Trump had said that he would not extend waivers under the deal reached between Iran and six major world powers in 2015 and implemented in January 2016.

He has constantly criticized the pact in which the West promised to relieve sanctions on Tehran in exchange for a halt in Iran's efforts to develop nuclear weapons.

Under the deal, the U.S. President must sign a waiver suspending the U.S. sanctions on Iran every 120 days.

The United States is the only side that has threatened to scrap the deal, a stance that has been confronted by other participants. Enditem