FNA - Former Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Kamal Kharrazi blasted Washington for imposing the toughest-ever sanctions against Tehran, stressing that the US pressures may never force the people of Iran to lose their independence.

"One of our common problems is the West and US sanctions. The Iranian people are not willing to accept that their independence be harmed under these pressures," said Kharrazi, who is currently the head of Iran's Strategic Foreign Relations Council, in a meeting with Director of Moscow Institute of Oriental Studies Vitaly Naumkin in Tehran on Monday.

Elsewhere, he referred to the legal presence of Iran and Russia in Syria, stressing that cooperation between the two countries within the framework of the Astana conference is important to establish peace and stability in the war-hit country.

Naumkin, for his part, underscored Iran's important role in the establishment of stability in Syria, and condemned the US sanctions against Tehran.

Washington withdrew from the internationally-endorsed 2015 nuclear deal with Iran and reimposed sanctions against the country.

Under the nuclear agreement reached between Iran and six world powers in July 2015, Tehran undertook to put limits on its nuclear program in exchange for the removal of nuclear-related sanctions.

Despite Washington's measures, Iran has not left the deal, stressing that the remaining signatories to the agreement have to work to offset the negative impacts of the US pullout for Iran if they want Tehran to remain committed to it.