Iranian President Rouhani says White House is \'mentally retarded\'

Tehran: Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has stated that the US sanctions against Iran show the American administration's "despair", calling the White House "mentally retarded". Rouhani stressed that the sanctions against the country's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei are futile, because he has no assets abroad.

"Imposing useless sanctions on Iran's Supreme Leader [Ayatollah Ali Khamenei] and the commander of Iran's diplomacy [Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif] is the permanent closure of the path of diplomacy", Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi stated.

In a speech broadcast live on Iranian state television on Tuesday, "The White House actions mean it is mentally retarded," Rouhani said, adding that Tehran's "strategic patience" should not be mistaken for fear.

The US sanctions targeting top Iranian statesmen come after the downing of a US drone by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps last week. According to Tehran, the UAV and P-8 Poseidon spy plane accompanying it had violated the country's border.

Talking about the incident US President Donald Trump had even claimed that he had called off an attack on Iran just 10 minutes it was about to happen in order to avoid inconsistent casualties on either sides.