(Bloomberg) -- U.S. sanctions against Iran’s supreme leader and foreign minister mean the diplomatic path with Washington is closed "forever," semi-official Iranian Students News Agency reported.
“The futile sanctions against the Iranian leader and the country’s chief diplomat mean the permanent closure of the diplomatic path with the government of the United States,” foreign ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi was cited as saying by the news agency. “The Trump government is in the process of destroying all the established international mechanisms for the maintaining global peace and security.”
U.S. President Donald Trump imposed sanctions on Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and eight senior military commanders on Monday, a provocative step aimed at increasing pressure on the Islamic Republic.
Trump told reporters at the White House that the penalties would deny Khamenei and his office access to financial resources. The U.S. is also expected to impose financial restrictions on Iran’s Foreign Minister Javad Zarif later this week.
To contact the reporter on this story: Golnar Motevalli in Tehran at gmotevalli@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Shaji Mathew at shajimathew@bloomberg.net
©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
Advertisement