DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The Latest on the situation in Iran after the re-imposition of all American sanctions on the country on Monday (all times local):
12:35 p.m.
Iran's foreign ministry is shrugging off the re-imposition of U.S. sanctions on Iran, saying it's nothing new and that the country has gone through a wider range of sanctions in the past.
The ministry's spokesman, Baharam Ghasemi, says that Iranians "have experienced more extensive sanctions" and that they are "not a new issue."
He also called the sanctions that went into effect on Monday "fruitless" and part of the U.S. propaganda and psychological war against Iran.
He claimed the sanctions would backfire and work against the United States and that "many countries from Europe to Russia and China have opposed the sanctions."
The sanctions end all U.S. economic benefits America granted to Tehran for its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers and in particular target Iran's vital oil industry.
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11: 10 a.m.
Israel's defense minister is welcoming newly restored U.S. sanctions against Iran, saying they will deal a "critical blow" to Iran's military presence around the Middle East.
Avigdor Lieberman said in a tweet on Monday that the Trump administration's decision to restore sanctions "is the sea change the Middle East has been waiting for."
Israel has been a fierce opponent of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal from which the United States withdrew this year, saying the deal didn't rein in Iran's regional military activities.
The new sanctions against Iran's shipping, financial and energy sectors, come into effect Monday. The U.S. says the sanctions are not aimed at toppling the government, but at persuading it to radically change its policies, including its support for regional militant groups and its development of long-range ballistic missiles.
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11 a.m.
Iran has greeted the re-imposition of U.S. sanctions with air defense drills and an acknowledgement from President Hassan Rouhani that the nation faces a "war situation."
The developments raise Mideast tensions as America's maximalist approach to the Islamic Republic takes hold.
The sanctions end all the economic benefits America granted Tehran for its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, though Iran for now continues to abide by the accord that saw it limit its enrichment of uranium. While for now not threatening to resume higher enrichment, Iranian officials in recent months have made a point to threaten that could resume at any time faster than before.
The new American sanctions particularly hurt Iran's vital oil industry, a crucial source of hard currency for its anemic economy. Its national currency has plummeted over the last year, sending prices for everything from mobile phones to medicine skyrocketing.
