Press TV - US President Donald Trump�s withdrawal from the international nuclear deal with Iran and his tightening of sanctions against Tehran are an extension of a �Zionist foreign policy� that is isolating Washington, a US academic and analyst says.

The reimposition of US economic sanctions against Iran will harm Iran�s economy but the Islamic Republic will �thrive� in the long run, said James Fetzer, a retired professor of philosophy at the University of Minnesota.

�It�s going to be tough on Iran economically, but that the nation will survive and thrive and continue to be an example for the rest of the world,� Fetzer said in an interview with Press TV on Friday

Russia, China, and �most of the European Union are very, very disenchanted with the US withdrawing from the Iran nuclear agreement,� he added.

�Unfortunately these moves for sanctions, which have no basis whatsoever, are indefensible and purely political and appear to be an extension of a Zionist foreign policy, to which sad to say, Donald Trump appears to be following,� Fetzer said.

The Trump administration is preparing to increase economic pressure on Iran by restoring sanctions to force Tehran to end its civilian nuclear program and support for resistance groups in the Middle East.

US National Security Adviser John Bolton said Thursday in Geneva that he has raised the issue of tightening economic sanctions against Iran with the head of Russia�s National Security Council Nikolai Patrushev.

Bolton, one of the Trump administration�s leading hawks in dealing with Iran,�said that following the US withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal, the Trump administration�s objective was to �put maximum pressure on the regime� by making sanctions �more extensive and more effective.�

Trump pulled the US out of the 2015 landmark nuclear deal between Iran and six major world powers in May and then signed an executive order�earlier this month�reimposing�many sanctions on Iran to levy "maximum economic pressure" on the Islamic Republic to renegotiate the deal.

Trump also wants Tehran to end what Washington calls interference in Yemen, Syria and Lebanon. Iran denies any meddling in the internal affairs of these countries.