The Trump administration announced today that it is placing sanctions on Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in a move likely to raise doubts about President Donald Trump’s oft-cited goal of negotiating a new deal with Iran and to further estrange Washington from its European allies. The designation also may boost Zarif at home.
Zarif told Al-Monitor that he was notified about the US designation while in New York, and mocked the stated US rational for the decision.