Iran says U.S. sanctioning of top diplomat ‘childish’ as tensions rise

Iran accused the United States on Thursday of “childish behavior” driven by fear after Washington imposed sanctions on its foreign minister, fanning tensions between two foes at loggerheads over Gulf shipping and Iran’s nuclear program.

Fears of a Middle East war with global repercussions have risen since the United States ditched world powers’ 2015 nuclear deal with Iran last year and revived sanctions on Tehran.

The Islamic Republic has retaliated by resuming uranium enrichment seen in the West seen as a potential conduit to developing atomic bombs. Iran denies having any such objective.

After several attacks in May and June on oil tankers – blamed by Washington on Tehran, which denied responsibility – U.S. President Donald Trump has been trying to forge a military coalition to secure Gulf waters, though European allies have been loath to join for fear of provoking open conflict.

European parties to the nuclear pact have called for diplomacy to defuse the crisis, but Tehran and Washington have taken hard lines and on Wednesday the Trump administration slapped sanctions on Iran’s foreign minister – a likely further blow to any chances for troubleshooting dialogue.

“They (Americans) are resorting to childish behavior… They were claiming every day ‘We want to talk, with no preconditions’ …and then they sanction the foreign minister,” Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on state television.

Zarif, a pivotal player in the nuclear deal who was educated and lived for years in the United States, dismissed the action and said it would not affect him as he had no property or other interests in America.