Iran says 'unmoved by threats' after new U.S. pressure

Iran Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif speaks on the last day of the Munich Security Conference in Munich, southern Germany, Sunday, Feb. 18, 2017. (Matthias Balk//dpa via AP)

Iran’s foreign minister brushed aside pressure from the United States on Sunday, declaring that they respond well to respect, saying the country is "unmoved by threats."

President Trump has criticized the 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran, the U.S. and five other world powers, under which Tehran agreed to curb its uranium enrichment in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions, but hasn't yet announced what he plans to do about it.

Trump’s administration put Iran “on notice” over a recent ballistic missile test, and imposed new sanctions on more than two dozen Iranian companies and individuals.

"Iran doesn't respond well to threats," Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told the Munich Security Conference, an annual gathering of top diplomats and defense officials. "We don't respond well to coercion. We don't respond well to sanctions, but we respond very well to mutual respect. We respond very well to arrangements to reach mutually acceptable scenarios."

"Everybody tested us for many years — all threats and coercions were imposed on us," Zarif added.

Iran has said it has no interest in nuclear weapons.

"We are not going to produce nuclear weapons, period,” Zarif said.

South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham said that Iran has been working towards building a nuclear weapon, and "if they say they haven't, they're lying."

He proposed new sanctions in Iran for various reasons, including what he said were violations of U.N. resolutions and destabilizing the Mideast.

"I think it is now time for the Congress to take Iran on directly," Graham said. "I think most Republicans are on board with that concept and we'll see where President Trump's at."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.