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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jun/25/iran-says-us-sanctions-on-supreme-leader-means-permanent-closure-of-diplomacy
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| Iran says 'idiotic' new US sanctions have closed path to diplomacy | |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| Iran says the US decision to impose sanctions on its supreme leader and other top officials is “idiotic” and has permanently closed the path to diplomacy between Tehran and Washington. | |
| Donald Trump imposed new sanctions on Monday against supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and top military chiefs, in an unprecedented step designed to increase pressure on Iran after Tehran’s downing of an unmanned American drone. Khamenei is Iran’s utmost authority who has the last say on all state matters. | |
| Washington said it would also impose sanctions this week on Iran’s foreign minister Javad Zarif, who negotiated the 2015 nuclear deal with the US and other major powers and has spearheaded Iranian diplomacy since. | |
| Hassan Rouhani, the country’s president, said the new sanctions were “outrageous and idiotic”. Speaking in a live television address on Tuesday, he added: “You sanction the foreign minister simultaneously with a request for talks?” The White House was “afflicted by mental retardation”, he said. | |
| A foreign ministry spokesman said in a tweet: “Imposing useless sanctions on Iran’s supreme leader and the commander of Iran’s diplomacy is the permanent closure of the path of diplomacy. Trump’s desperate administration is destroying the established international mechanisms for maintaining world peace and security.” | |
| Trump says he stopped airstrike on Iran because 150 would have died | Trump says he stopped airstrike on Iran because 150 would have died |
| Signing an executive order in the Oval Office on Monday, Trump called the increased sanctions “hard-hitting”, saying they would deny the supreme leader, his office and and those closely affiliated with him access to key financial resources. | |
| “These measures represent a strong and proportionate response to Iran’s increasingly provocative actions,” Trump said. “We do not seek conflict with Iran or any other country. I can only tell you we cannot ever let Iran have a nuclear weapon.” | |
| Standing alongside Trump, the treasury secretary, Steven Mnuchin, said the measures would freeze billions of dollars in Iranian assets. | Standing alongside Trump, the treasury secretary, Steven Mnuchin, said the measures would freeze billions of dollars in Iranian assets. |
| But analysts said their impact on an already heavily-sanctioned country would be limited. | |
| “The newly announced Iran sanctions are symbolic,” said Jarrett Blanc, a former senior state department official now at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. | “The newly announced Iran sanctions are symbolic,” said Jarrett Blanc, a former senior state department official now at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. |
| Trump said he was willing to pursue dialogue with Tehran without preconditions, a line echoed by his national security adviser John Bolton on Tuesday. “All that Iran needs to do is walk through that open door,” Bolton said at a high-profile trilateral security summit in Jerusalem. | |
| But the sanctions appeared to make such talks even less likely. | |
| The Iranian ambassador to the UN, Majid Takht-Ravanchi, said: “No one in clear mind can have a dialogue with somebody who is threatening you with sanctions as long as that is still there is no way we can have a dialogue.” | The Iranian ambassador to the UN, Majid Takht-Ravanchi, said: “No one in clear mind can have a dialogue with somebody who is threatening you with sanctions as long as that is still there is no way we can have a dialogue.” |
| The ratcheting up of tensions between the two countries comes in the wake of the Gulf of Oman tanker attacks, when two vessels were damaged by explosions. The Trump administration blamed Iran for the attacks, but Tehran denied responsibility. | The ratcheting up of tensions between the two countries comes in the wake of the Gulf of Oman tanker attacks, when two vessels were damaged by explosions. The Trump administration blamed Iran for the attacks, but Tehran denied responsibility. |
| Then last week a US drone was shot down by Iran, further escalating the crisis. The US president responded by ordering an attack on Iran, before pulling back and opting for stronger sanctions instead. | Then last week a US drone was shot down by Iran, further escalating the crisis. The US president responded by ordering an attack on Iran, before pulling back and opting for stronger sanctions instead. |
| Tensions with Iran have been mounting since Trump withdrew theUS from the 2015 nuclear deal last year and began applying pressure onTehran through economic sanctions. | Tensions with Iran have been mounting since Trump withdrew theUS from the 2015 nuclear deal last year and began applying pressure onTehran through economic sanctions. |
| Iran | Iran |
| Donald Trump | Donald Trump |
| Middle East and North Africa | Middle East and North Africa |
| news | news |
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