AP, TEHRANIran yesterday sharply criticized new US sanctions targeting the Islamic Republic’s supreme leader and other top officials, saying the measures spell the “permanent closure” for diplomacy between the two nations. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani described the White House as “afflicted by mental retardation.”He added that the sanctions against Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei were “outrageous and idiotic,” especially as the 80-year-old Shiite cleric has no plans to ever travel to the US. The crisis gripping the Middle East is rooted in US President Donald Trump’s withdrawal of the US a year ago from Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal and imposing crippling new sanctions on Tehran. US officials also said they plan sanctions against Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammad Javad Zarif, something that drew Rouhani’s anger during his televised address yesterday. There was no immediate reaction from Washington early yesterday to the remarks from Iran.

Source: Taipei Times June 25, 2019 15:56 UTC