Maria Zakharova, the spokeswoman for the Russian foreign ministry heavily criticized the United States for the decision to sanction Iran’s foreign minister Javad Zarif.

Zakharova stated: “There is a feeling that Washington is looking for a reason to escalate the situation, to continue the aggressive rhetoric against Iran and to move to a more active and hot phase of the conflict."

She continued: "The U.S. has only one tool – sanctions. This tool does not work. This tool has not approved itself. This tool has discredited both itself and those who apply it. The U.S corners itself strips itself of the possibility to use a wide range of diplomatic tools."

She also described the seizure of Iranian tanker by British forces in Gibraltar as piracy, organized by the United States: "The U.S. is deliberately inflating the situation, including organizing a pirate seizure of an Iranian tanker in Gibraltar to strengthen the U.S. military presence in the Persian Gulf under the pretext of ‘ensuring freedom of navigation.”

British forces seized an Iranian supertanker in Gibraltar for violating the EU sanctions against Syria. Iran in response has seized and detained a British tanker passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

Yesterday, the United States’ Treasury Department added the foreign minister of the Islamic Republic to the list of sanctions.