Iranian foreign minister says US sanctions do not affect him or his family

MOSCOW, August 5. /TASS/. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has slammed the sanctions imposed on him by Washington as a failure of diplomatic efforts, he stated at a press conference in Tehran on Monday.

"The sanctions against me is a refusal to hold dialogue and Washington’s diplomatic failure," Iran’s ISNA news agency quotes him as saying. He also added that "the US failed to hammer out a coalition on the Strait of Hormuz, while its allies have no intention of joining them in this endeavor."

The minister stressed that "Iran’s progress and development will be the best response to the policy of US pressure and economic terrorism. No empire is eternal, and we will persevere in this struggle, relying on the Iranian people."

The Russian Foreign Ministry condemned Washington’s sanctions on Iranian top diplomat Mohammad Javad Zarif, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told a briefing on Monday.

"We certainly condemn the US administration’s move to impose sanctions on the Iranian foreign minister. It is an unprecedented measure of pressure that should have no place in today’s international relations," Ryabkov said.

On July 30, the US administration announced that Washington was introducing sanctions against Zarif. Being on the sanction list means that one's assets in the US are frozen, while US citizens and companies are banned from engaging in business activities with those on the list. "Javad Zarif implements the reckless agenda of Iran’s Supreme Leader, and is the regime’s primary spokesperson around the world. The United States is sending a clear message to the Iranian regime that its recent behavior is completely unacceptable," US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin stated.