TEHRAN – The U.S. ruling authorities are baffled and wondering why none of the measures they adopt against Iran bears fruit, President Hassan Rouhani said on Tuesday after Washington announced a new round of sanctions on the Islamic Republic’s officials.

The fact is that after each such U.S. move, the Iranian nation becomes livelier, stronger, and gains further morale to push on in various arenas, the president said, addressing a meeting in Tehran.

Rouhani said the recent sanctions originate from the U.S. administration’s “confusion”, adding, “They have become mentally impotent. The White House has become mentally crippled and does not know what to do.”

Rouhani said Washington is angry with Iran’s ability to detect the U.S. spy drone immediately after it violated the Iranian airspace, and more exasperated with the shooting down of its aircraft by an Iranian air defense system, not by S-300 or other systems.

The aerospace force of the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) shot down the drone, a Global Hawk spy aircraft, on early hours of Thursday, June 20, after it violated Iranian airspace.

“We kiss the hand of the Guards and the Defense Ministry for downing the (U.S.) drone,” Rouhani states.

The IRGC said the drone had taken off from a U.S. military base in south of the Persian Gulf, switched off all of its communication systems, and flew towards the port city of Chabahar via the Strait of Hormuz in maximum stealth.

When flying back to the western part of the region, the unmanned plane violated the Iranian airspace near the Strait of Hormuz and began to spy on Iran and collect information, the statement added.

“We kiss the hand of the Guards and the Defense Ministry for downing the drone,” Rouhani stated.

As regards the restrictions that the U.S. administration has announced against the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, the president said imposing sanctions against the highest-ranking political, religious, social and spiritual official of Iran who is also leader of the world’s Shiite Muslims reveals that the American government “lacks any wisdom”.

Unlike the other world leaders who possess billions of dollars in foreign bank accounts, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution has no assets that could be subject to sanctions, Rouhani added.

Rouhani said the Leader’s only assets are a “simple house” and a Hussainiya, a religious congregation hall.

His comments came after U.S. President Donald Trump announced new sanctions against top Iranian officials, including the office of Ayatollah Khamenei, Iran’s foreign minister, and senior commanders of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC).

The U.S. had already blacklisted the entire IRGC. 

SP/PA