Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said in a new interview that the United States has never let go of its push for regime change in his country.

“Well, I think the United States has never abandoned the idea of regime change in Iran. Now they are more explicit about stating it,” Zarif told CBS’s “Face the Nation” when asked about the appointment of John Bolton and CIA Director Mike Pompeo Michael (Mike) Richard PompeoOvernight Defense: Pentagon redirects pandemic funding to defense contractors | US planning for full Afghanistan withdrawal by May | Anti-Trump GOP group puts ads in military papers Overnight Defense: House Democrats unveil stopgap spending measure to GOP opposition | Bill includes .6B for new subs | Trump issues Iran sanctions after world shrugs at US action at UN Navalny calls on Russia to return clothes he was wearing when he fell ill MORE as President Trump Donald John TrumpOmar fires back at Trump over rally remarks: 'This is my country' Pelosi: Trump hurrying to fill SCOTUS seat so he can repeal ObamaCare Trump mocks Biden appearance, mask use ahead of first debate MORE's new national security adviser and secretary of State, respectively.

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Bolton and Pompeo are both known for hawkish positions on Iran, while Bolton ardently opposed the Iran nuclear accord reached under the Obama administration.

Zarif during the interview said the U.S. is accustomed to autocratic rulers in the Middle East who rely on the U.S. for support, arguing America has not been able to “impact” Iran’s people since the 1979 revolution.

“The point is they’re used to dictators in our region who rely on them. As President Trump said, we cannot live without U.S. support for two weeks,” Zarif said. “That's the type of regime that they’re used to and that is why they so readily talk about regime change.”

Trump, for his part, has also criticized the government in Iran and said earlier this year that the Iranian people would receive “great support” from America “at the appropriate time.”

“The people of Iran are finally acting against the brutal and corrupt Iranian regime. All of the money that President Obama so foolishly gave them went into terrorism and into their 'pockets,’ ” Trump wrote on Twitter in January, referring to protests in Iran. “The people have little food, big inflation and no human rights. The U.S. is watching!”