Iran Foreign Ministry: Doubling down on sanctions won’t create leverage for US in Vienna talks

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman has lambasted fresh US sanctions against a number of the Iranian officials and entities over rights allegations, saying the intensification of anti-Iran measures will fail to create leverage and also runs counter to the anticipated seriousness and goodwill at a time that Iran and the remaining signatories to the 2015 nuclear deal are in the midst of a new round of talks on the removal of American sanctions.

Saeed Khatibzadeh made the remarks in a post on his Twitter account late on Tuesday, shortly after the US Treasury and State Department announced sanctions against a dozen Iranian government officials and organizations over accusations of human rights abuses.

“Even amid Vienna talks, US cannot stop imposing sanctions against Iran,” Khatibzadeh wrote in his tweet, referring to the seventh round of high-level talks between Iran and the other parties to the nuclear agreement in the Austrian capital of Vienna.

“Washington fails to understand that ‘maximum failure’ & a diplomatic breakthrough are mutually exclusive. Doubling down on sanctions won’t create leverage — and is anything but seriousness & goodwill,” he added.