European calls to reinstate the sanctions on Iran are a new pretext for escalation of international relations, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh said.

“What the Europeans are doing is politically motivated, illegal, and strategically wrong under international law,” Khatibzadeh added, speaking with reporters.

He noted that by attempting to reinstate the sanctions against Iran, “the Europeans will raise international relations to a new level of unpredictability.”