US Imposing New Sanctions on Iran out of Desperation: Spokesman

“Their new sanctions, like previous embargoes, are ineffective and out of desperation, and lacks any legal basis,” Mousavi told to the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) on Thursday night.

However, the spokesman added, these sanctions undermine the foundations of the international mechanisms.

He further pointed to a recent move by the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) to shoot down a US spy drone over Iran’s territory and said the Americans misunderstood that the Iranian Armed Forces’ hands are empty in confrontation with their military power.

“With the shooting down of their intruding drone, which was also of strategic importance, the power and readiness of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran were proved to everyone…,” he noted.

The IRGC said on June 20 that a US spy drone that violated the Iranian territorial airspace in the early hours of the day was shot down by the IRGC Aerospace Force’s air defense unit near the Kooh-e-Mobarak region in the southern province of Hormozgan.

The intruding drone was reportedly shot by Iran’s homegrown air defense missile system “Khordad-3rd”.

Later on the same day, US President Donald Trump said he had called off a retaliatory attack on a number of targets in Iran and said that he was ready to speak with Iranian leaders and come to an understanding that would allow the country to improve its economic prospects. “What I’d like to see with Iran, I’d like to see them call me.”

“I look forward to the day where we can actually help Iran. We're not looking to hurt Iran,” Trump added.

However, on Monday 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).