TEHRAN – The newly-elected chairman of the Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Committee has described the fresh sanctions imposed by the U.S. on Iran as “useless, futile and ineffective”.

In its latest provocative move, the U.S. imposed a series of bizarre sanctions that targeted Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and senior Iranian military commanders. The Trump administration is also set to introduce sanctions against Zarif in the coming days.

“They imposed sanctions on Zarif, our country’s foreign minister, which is not possible with regard to international relations and international laws,” Mehr on Saturday quoted MP Mojtaba Zonnour as saying.

“They cannot impact our country’s relations with other countries and the foreign minister’s trips,” Zonnour added.

Pointing to the sanctions against Ayatollah Khamenei, the top MP said the Leader has not visited other countries since the end of his presidency.

“Also, he does not have any [foreign] bank account, and accordingly, this ban is also ineffective.” 

On Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s recent visit to Tehran to convey the U.S. president’s message to Ayatollah Khamenei, Zonnour said the Leader’s response “humiliated Trump”.

During the meeting, Ayatollah Khamenei had dismissed Trump as a person not worthy of a response or a message, stressing that negotiations with Washington cannot help solve any problem.

Zonnour said the appointment of Major General Hossein Salami as chief of the IRGC, the IRGC’s downing of an American drone and Trump’s humiliation after Abe’s visit to Tehran provoked the United States into imposing new sanctions against the Islamic Republic.

MH/PA