US sanctions against top Iranian officials represent the "permanent closure" of the path to diplomacy with Washington, Iran said on Tuesday, describing the White House as "mentally retarded.”
In a speech broadcast live on state television, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said sanctions against Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei would fail because he had no assets abroad. He also described the latest round of sanctions as a sign of US desperation.
"The White House actions mean it is mentally retarded," he said. "Tehran's strategic patience does not mean we have fear."
"Imposing fruitless sanctions against Iran's supreme leader and the commander of Iran's diplomacy (Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif) is the permanent closure of the path to diplomacy with the frustrated US administration," Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said earlier in a tweet.
US President Donald Trump enacted new sanctions Monday targeting Khamenei. US officials also say they plan sanctions against Zarif.
"At the same time as you call for negotiations you seek to sanction the foreign minister? It's obvious that you're lying," Rouhani said.
US National Security Advisor John Bolton has said Washington had "held the door open to real negotiations" but that "in response, Iran's silence has been deafening."
The sanctions come amid heightened tensions between Tehran and Washington mainly after Iran last week shot down a US military surveillance drone.
Iran says the drone was flying over southern Iran. Washington says it was downed in international airspace over the Strait of Hormuz in the Gulf.
Trump said that the sanctions were in part a response to the shooting down of the drone, but would have happened anyway.
