Iran accused the United States on Thursday of "childish behavior" driven by fear after Washington imposed sanctions on its foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, escalating tensions between two foes at loggerheads over Gulf shipping and Iran's nuclear program.
Fears of a Middle East war with global repercussions have risen since the United States ditched world powers' 2015 nuclear deal with Iran last year and revived sanctions on Tehran.
The Islamic Republic has retaliated by resuming uranium enrichment seen in the West seen as a potential conduit to developing atomic bombs. Iran denies any such intent.