Iran slams Trump administration for sanctions

WASHINGTON—Iran on Tuesday condemned U.S. sanctions targeting Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and other Iranian leaders, saying that the move means “permanent closure” for diplomacy between the two countries. U.S. President Donald Trump enacted new sanctions Monday against Khamenei and other Iranian leaders after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard shot down a U.S. surveillance drone last week over international waters. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani called the sanctions “outrageous and idiotic,” and said the Trump administration is “afflicted by mental retardation.”

Iran has quadrupled its production of low-enriched uranium and is on track to break one of the terms of the 2015 nuclear accords this week. It threatened to increase uraniam enrichment levels, bringing it closer to obtaining a nuclear weapon, if Europe does not offer it a better deal. The United States withdrew from the agreement last year.

U.S. officials said they also may bring sanctions against Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. “You sanction the foreign minister simultaneously with a request for talks,” Rouhani complained.

U.S. national security adviser John Bolton, who is currently meeting with Russian and Israel officials at a summit in Jerusalem, maintained that Iran has an “open door” to diplomatic talks with the Trump administration. He added that if Iran surpasses its limit of low-enriched uranium by Thursday, “all options remain on the table.”