Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday hailed US leader Donald Trump for reimposing sanctions against Iran.
"Thank you, President Trump, for this historic move. The sanctions are indeed coming," Netanyahu said in a statement released by his office.
"For years I've been calling for sanctions to be fully reimposed against Iran's murderous terrorist regime, which threatens the entire world."
The US administration announced Friday it will snap back sanctions on Iran that had been lifted under the historic 2015 Iran nuclear deal.
The sanctions, to fully take effect on Monday, November 5, would be "the toughest" and "unprecedented," targeting many of the country's "critical sectors" including energy, shipping, shipbuilding, and finance, a statement issued by the White House said.
While Iran expressed confidence that the re-imposed US sanctions will not cripple Iran's economy, the country's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei even called the US a "loser."
The US has always been the "loser" in a confrontation with Iran over the 40 years, Khamenei said on Saturday, official IRNA news agency reported.
"In the past few months our people have faced difficult times and it's possible that the next few months will be difficult. But the government will use all its power to reduce these problems," Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said.
(Top image: US President Donald Trump welcomes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House, in Washington, DC, the US, March 5, 2018. /VCG Photo)