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U.S. Sanctions Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif

“Thank you for considering me such a huge threat to your agenda,” Zarif tweeted.

The U.S. has decided to sanction Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, a move that will threaten any future negotiations between America and Tehran. The 59-year-old Zarif is a U.S.-educated Iranian politician who served as the chief negotiator for the 2015 nuclear deal. According to an unnamed senior administration official who spoke with USA Today, the U.S. decided it had “indulged” Zarif’s presence for too long. “Zarif’s office functions as an extension of the Supreme Leader’s office and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps,” the official said, referring to the elite Iranian military group that the Trump administration has declared a terrorist organization. On Twitter, Zarif wrote that the blacklist “has no effect on me or my family, as I have no property or interests outside of Iran. Thank you for considering me such a huge threat to your agenda.”