In this picture released on Wednesday, June 19, 2019, by the official website of the office of the Iranian supreme leader, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Al...
In this picture released on Wednesday, June 19, 2019, by the official website of the office of the Iranian supreme leader, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks in a meeting at his residence in Tehran, Iran. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday, June 24, 2019, targeting Iran's supreme leader and his associates with financial sanctions, the latest action the U.S. has taken to discourage Tehran from developing nuclear weapons and supporting militant groups. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP)
Sailors stand on deck above a hole the U.S. Navy says was made by a limpet mine on the damaged Panama-flagged, Japanese owned oil tanker Kokuka Courag...
Sailors stand on deck above a hole the U.S. Navy says was made by a limpet mine on the damaged Panama-flagged, Japanese owned oil tanker Kokuka Courageous, anchored off Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, during a trip organized by the Navy for journalists, Wednesday, June 19, 2019. The limpet mines used to attack a Japanese-owned oil tanker near the Strait of Hormuz last week bore “a striking resemblance” to similar mines previously seen in Iran, a U.S. Navy explosives expert said Wednesday, stopping short of directly blaming Tehran for the assault. (AP Photo/Fay Abuelgasim)
In this picture released on April 29, 2019, by the official website of the office of the Iranian supreme leader, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei...
In this picture released on April 29, 2019, by the official website of the office of the Iranian supreme leader, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei reads part of a book while visiting Tehran's book fair in Tehran, Iran. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday, June 24, 2019, targeting Iran's supreme leader and his associates with financial sanctions, the latest action the U.S. has taken to discourage Tehran from developing nuclear weapons and supporting militant groups. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP)
FILE - In this Thursday, June 13, 2019 file photo, an oil tanker is on fire in the sea of Oman. A series of attacks on oil tankers near the Persian Gu...
FILE - In this Thursday, June 13, 2019 file photo, an oil tanker is on fire in the sea of Oman. A series of attacks on oil tankers near the Persian Gulf has ratcheted up tensions between the U.S. and Iran -- and raised fears over the safety of one of Asia’s most vital energy trade routes, where about a fifth of the world’s oil passes through its narrowest at the Strait of Hormuz. The attacks have jolted the shipping industry, with many of operators in the region on high alert. (AP Photo/ISNA, File)
In this picture released on May 29, 2019, by the official website of the office of the Iranian supreme leader, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei a...
In this picture released on May 29, 2019, by the official website of the office of the Iranian supreme leader, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei attends a meeting at his residence in Tehran, Iran. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday, June 24, 2019, targeting Iran's supreme leader and his associates with financial sanctions, the latest action the U.S. has taken to discourage Tehran from developing nuclear weapons and supporting militant groups. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP)
FILE - This file image released by the U.S. Department of Defense Monday, June 17, 2019, and taken from a U.S. Navy helicopter, shows what the Navy sa...
FILE - This file image released by the U.S. Department of Defense Monday, June 17, 2019, and taken from a U.S. Navy helicopter, shows what the Navy says are members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy removing an unexploded limpet mine from the M/T Kokuka Courageous. A series of attacks on oil tankers near the Persian Gulf has ratcheted up tensions between the U.S. and Iran -- and raised fears over the safety of one of Asia’s most vital energy trade routes, where about a fifth of the world’s oil passes through its narrowest at the Strait of Hormuz. (U.S. Department of Defense via AP, File)
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman says the new U.S. sanctions targeting the Islamic Republic's supreme leader and other top officials mean the "permanent closure" of diplomacy between Tehran and Washington.
That's according to a report carried by the state-run IRNA news agency on Tuesday, quoting the spokesman, Abbas Mousavi.
Mousavi says the "fruitless sanction on Iran's leadership and the chief of Iranian diplomacy mean the permanent closure of the road of diplomacy with the frustrated U.S. administration."
Trump enacted new sanctions Monday targeting Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. U.S. officials also say they plan sanctions against Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.
This comes amid heightened tensions between Iran and the U.S. over its unraveling nuclear deal and as Iran last week shot down a U.S. military surveillance drone.
