Iran: New US sanctions show Trump administration’s ‘desperation’

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani reportedly said Monday that a new round of sanctions the Trump administration placed on the country shows the U.S. is in a state of “desperation.” 

“Americans are sanctioning institutions that have already been blacklisted. This signals America’s complete desperation and shows that its ‘maximum pressure’ has failed … as the great Iranian nation has resisted successfully,” Rouhani said in remarks carried by state television, according to Reuters.{mosads}

The Trump administration placed additional sanctions on Iran’s central bank last week in response to attacks on Saudi Arabian oil facilities that the U.S. has blamed on Tehran. 

Iran denies involvement in the attacks, which were claimed by the Yemeni rebel movement, the Houthis. 

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Sunday doubled down on his claim that Iran is to blame for the attacks. He said on CBS’s “Face the Nation” that they “could not have come from the Houthis. It’s crazy for anyone to assert that they did.” 

Pompeo also called the attacks a “state-on-state act of war.” 

Tensions between Iran and the U.S. increased last year when President Trump withdrew the U.S. from the Obama-era nuclear deal and reimposed sanctions on Tehran. 

Late last week, Trump also authorized the deployment of more U.S. troops and equipment to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in response to the attacks on the oil facilities.