Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said the White House is “afflicted by mental retardation” after President Trump enacted new sanctions targeting the Islamic Republic’s supreme leader.
Rouhani criticized the sanctions against Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as “outrageous and idiotic” on Tuesday. U.S. officials have indicated sanctions could also be placed against the country’s foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif.
“You sanction the foreign minister simultaneously with a request for talks,” Rouhani said. “The White House is afflicted by mental retardation and does not know what to do.”
A spokesman for the Foreign Ministry said the sanctions mean there’s a “permanent closure” for diplomacy between the two nations.
Tensions have heightened between the two amid the Trump administration imposing sanctions on Iran and deeming the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps a terrorist organization after the U.S. pulled out of the nuclear deal. Washington has also canceled waivers for countries buying Iranian oil without a penalty.
Iran responded to the U.S. actions by threatening to prevent tankers from passing through the Strait of Hormuz. It also shot down a U.S. naval surveillance drone. The U.S. has also blamed Iran for the attacks on oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman.
