Iran says possible response to new U.S. sanctions could not be 'pleasant'

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif attends a news conference after a meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, August 29, 2014. REUTERS/Maxim Zmeyev

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran's possible response to new U.S. sanctions could "not be pleasant", its foreign minister said on Sunday, raising the prospect of tit-for-tat retribution against the Islamic Republic's old adversary weeks ahead of fresh nuclear talks.

Iranian leaders reacted with dismay to Friday's announcement that Washington was going to penalise a number of Iranian and other foreign companies, banks and airlines for violating sanctions against Tehran, most of which are tied to a decade-old dispute about its nuclear programme.