This was stated by General Ali Shamkhani, Deputy for Legal Affairs of the Commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC, elite units of the Iranian Armed Forces).

"The Americans must pay compensation to Iran in the amount of $1 trillion for the damage they caused to our country by restraining it," the press service of the Iranian Defense Ministry quoted him as saying. The general noted that the United States began imposing sanctions against Iran after the Islamic Revolution and the seizure of the "spy nest" (the American embassy in Tehran), and not after Washington withdrew from the nuclear deal. Shamkhani noted that the United States authorities supported terrorist groups in the Middle East, which harmed the national security of the Islamic Republic.

The United States imposed the first unilateral sanctions on Iran shortly after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, which resulted in the fall of the Shah's regime in the country. The reason for the restrictions was the seizure of the American Embassy and its staff in Tehran on November 4, 1979 by a group of Iranian students.

Then Washington put severe pressure on Tehran. By the decree of US President Jimmy Carter dated November 14, 1979, the purchase of Iranian oil was stopped, Iranian deposits in American banks and their foreign branches were frozen, and the sale of military parts to Iran was prohibited. After the rupture of diplomatic relations in April 1980, Washington imposed a ban on the export of American goods to Iran (including food and medicines), on money transfers to that country, as well as on the import of Iranian goods.

In subsequent years, the US sanctions regime against Iran was repeatedly adjusted: some of the bans were lifted, others were tightened, and new restrictions were introduced. After the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, sanctions began to be gradually lifted in response to restrictions on Iran's nuclear program.

But in 2018, the then-President of the United States, Donald Trump, withdrew from the agreement and restored all American restrictions that are still in effect. After 2022, Washington imposed several rounds of sanctions against Tehran for alleged military supplies to Russia. These baseless accusations were rejected by both the Iranian and Russian authorities, reports tass.ru.