TEHRAN, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- Iran's President Hassan Rouhani has urged South Africa to take a more decisive stance against the sanctions imposed by the U.S. on Iran, Tasnim news agency reported on Thursday.
"We hope all our friends around the world, including South Africa, will take a more decisive stance against the U.S. illegal and inhumane actions towards the Iranian nation which even include food and medicine sanctions," Rouhani said Wednesday during a meeting with South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Naledi Pandor.
Rouhani decried Washington's "economic war" against the Iranian nation following its withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
For her part, Pandor called upon the United States to return to the nuclear agreement and end the economic sanctions on Iran, Tasnim reported.
In May 2018, the U.S. unilaterally pulled out of the JCPOA and reimposed energy and economic sanctions against the Islamic republic with an aim to force the latter to the negotiation table for a new nuclear deal.
