(CNN)—Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi responded early Saturday to comments by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Washington's announcement of new sanctions on intermediaries and financial companies dealing with the Iranian state.

This came after the US Treasury Department announced in a statement on Friday, saying: "Today, following Iran's resumption of attacks on international navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed sanctions on an Iranian financial intermediary that effectively institutionalized large-scale embezzlement operations within the Iranian regime, funneling state-funded wealth abroad. The office also targeted today major Iranian exchange houses that handle billions of dollars annually on behalf of sanctioned Iranian banks."

Bessent commented on this announcement in a post saying: "The so-called 'Supreme Leader' hides in isolation while his regime crumbles. The Treasury will continue to use all available tools to isolate him and other regime elites from the global financial system; we will preserve these assets for the Iranian people."

Araghchi responded in a post on his X account, saying: "Iran has so far kept its promises, unlike the so-called US Treasury Secretary who violates paragraph 9 of the Memorandum of Understanding.. This violation comes on the heels of other violations and mistakes by the United States.. In fact, the only way is mutual commitment."

Paragraph 9 of the Memorandum of Understanding stipulates that, until a final agreement is reached, Iran will maintain the "status quo of its nuclear program," while the United States will not impose "any new sanctions nor deploy additional forces in the region."