Iranian president Hassan Rouhani branded Trump administration officials as “liars” and “confused” as Tehran lashed out at Washington’s move to impose sanctions on the Islamic republic’s supreme leader and top diplomat.
Mr Rouhani said on Tuesday that a move by US president Donald Trump to ratchet up pressure by targeting Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif showed White House officials “do not know what they are doing”.
Mr Trump responded on Twitter by accusing Iranian leaders of not understanding “reality” and warning that an attack on “anything American” by Iran would be “met with great and overwhelming force”. He added: “In some areas, overwhelming will mean obliteration.”
Sanctions against Mr Khamenei and his office are unlikely to have much economic impact, but they are viewed as highly provocative in Iran and will fuel suspicions that Washington is pushing for regime change.
Iran’s foreign ministry said the sanctions were an act that “blocks diplomacy forever”. Mr Rouhani said “any government with an iota of wisdom and prudence cannot impose sanctions against the most senior authority of a country”.