US sanctions on Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif are “insane” and “a sign of defeat,” the commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps – Quds Force (IRGC-QF), Qassem Soleimani, said on Tuesday, the semi-official Fars news agency reported.
In his IRGC uniform, Soleimani went to visit the Iranian Foreign Ministry headquarters in Tehran.
“The US measure proved that you — as the person in charge of the country’s foreign policy — have a profound influence on public opinion, especially that of the American nation, when it comes to [shedding light on] the ignorance of that country’s leaders,” the senior military official told Zarif.
On July 31, the US Treasury Department said that it was imposing sanctions on Zarif — which it described as Iran’s “primary spokesperson around the world” — for acting on behalf of Leader of the Islamic Republic Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.
The bans drew condemnations from Iranian statesmen and military officials. The European Union — which has been cooperating with Zarif in a successful diplomatic process on Iran’s nuclear program — also expressed regret over Washington’s bans.
Zarif, himself, mocked the bans and said the US’s “reason for designating me is that I am Iran’s ‘primary spokesperson around the world’. Is the truth really that painful?”
He reiterated that the sanctions “has no effect” on him or his family, as they “have no property or interests outside of Iran.”
Source: Iranian Agencies
