Iran Foreign Minister Javad Zarif has stated that India is being bullied by the United States. He was saying this in the context of India's decision to stop buying oil from Iran since May this year after US imposed sanctions on Iran.

Javad Zarif said he expected India to strongly resist the pressure of the US sanctions. Speaking to Indian Women Press Corps (IWPC) journalists in Tehran, Zarif said, "India is already bullied by the United States because they tell you not to buy oil from us."

While Zarif admitted that India did not wish to antagonise the US, he said that as the largest democracy it must take care of its interest. He said, "India certainly has taken stance against (US) sanctions. Indians have said they don't accept any stance other than that of the UN. Of course, we expected our friends to be more resilient vis-a-vis US pressure."

Zarif likened the US to a "high school bully" saying that they pick up on the weakest in the class. "The more you allow the bully to bully you or others, the more you put yourself in the receiving end," he said.

He added, "This is a global strategic mistake countries are making. People believe they want to be on the right side of Trump. The bully puts others into submission." He also said that the US is trying to bully three great powers -- Iran, Russia and China.

Also, the recent show of bonhomie between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump has not escaped the eyes of the Iranians. Zarif said, "For the time being President Trump needs Prime Minister Modi's votes in Texas." But he stressed only the need for "long-term perspective in dealing with these issues".

Calling India a strategic partner, Zarif said, "The bond between the two countries cannot be broken by political or economic alignment or short-term global reasons. In May this year, when the eight-nation sanctions waiver for oil granted by the US ended, India stopped buying oil from its third-largest crude supplier."

"You need to buy petro chemical fertiliser which is three times the cost, who pays more? The Indian farmer pays. If we (Iran) cannot buy rice from India, who suffers, the Indian farmer does. We want India to act in the manner, where its interests do not suffer," said Zarif.

A year ago, the US began sanctioning Iran in phases in a bid to compel a defiant Iran into accepting tighter controls on its nuclear programme. Following the sanctions, Iran's inflation rate soared upto a whopping 40 per cent and its currency losing nearly 70 per cent of its value, impacting the lives of ordinary people.

The Iranian foreign minister then made a candid confession that this has critically affected supplies of food items and essential life saving medicines. Zarif called the move by US to impose sanctions "economic terrorism" and "crime against humanity".

The foreign minister also expressed disappointment at the slow progress of the Chabahar port in south-eastern Iran, the first phase of which is being developed in collaboration with India.

"It has not been as fast as we had wanted. But Chabahar is much greater than India and Iran - it affects regional stability, Afghanistan's future, which means the future of law and order in this region, freedom from terrorism, the future of us all," he said, pointing to the strategic route the port would create between India, Iran and Afghanistan, a country where, Zarif said, Islamic State is reportedly regrouping after its rout in Syria and Iraq.

ALSO READ: Islamic State is relocating to Afghanistan; it's threat for India too: Iran foreign minister