Iran says US new sanctions target diplomacy
A handout file picture from the media office of Iran's supreme leader dated May 11, 2014, and obtained by AFP on June 21, 2019, shows the Islamic republic's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei walking past a Khordad-3 air defence system during a visit to a Revolutionary Guards air force achievement exhibition in Tehran.
Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman said Tuesday that US decision to sanction the Iranian top officials closed the path of diplomacy between Washington and Tehran.
"Imposing useless sanctions on Iran's supreme leader (Ayatollah Ali Khamenei) and the commander of Iran's diplomacy (Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif) is the permanent closure of the path of diplomacy with the desperate US administration," the spokesman Abbas Mousavi tweeted on Tuesday.
"Trump's administration is destroying all the international mechanisms developed for securing world peace and security", said Mousavi.
On Monday, US president Donald Trump signed an executive order for sanctions targeting Iran's Supreme Leader Khamenei, his office and those closely affiliated with him. Washington also announced that it will sanction Iran's foreign minister next week.
The new sanctions by the United States come in the wake of downing of a US drone by Iran last week. Iran said the drone had violated its airspace, which the United States denied.
