Iranian FM rebuffs U.S. sanctions on him

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Thursday dismissed the U.S. decision to put sanctions on him.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif during a press conference with his Iraqi counterpart Mohamad Ali Alhakim at the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Baghdad, Iraq, May 26, 2019. [Photo: IC]

"Thank you for considering me such a huge threat to your agenda," Zarif tweeted, after the U.S. administration announced Wednesday that the imposition was because Zarif "acted or purported to act for or on behalf of" Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was put under sanctions by the United States on June 24.

"The U.S. reason for designating me is that I am Iran's 'primary spokesperson around the world.' Is the truth really that painful?" Zarif noted. "It has no effect on me or my family, as I have no property or interests outside Iran."

On Thursday, Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Abbas Mousavi also said that "the Americans are seriously scared by the logic of Zarif and his art of negotiations."

According to U.S. Treasury Department, all property and interests of Zarif in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons must be blocked and reported to the U.S. government.

In addition, any foreign financial institution that knowingly conducts or facilitates a significant transaction for or on behalf of Zarif would also face punishment by the U.S. government.

Ties between the United States and Iran have become increasingly tense since Washington walked away in May 2018 from the 2015 landmark Iran nuclear deal, under the burden of repeated U.S. sanctions and the two sides' exchange of harsh rhetoric.

Iran has suspended parts of its commitments under the nuclear deal and has threatened to go further.