Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi on Friday criticised the United States for imposing new sanctions on petrochemical producers in the Islamic republic, amid a deadlock in talks aimed at reviving a nuclear deal. The US on Thursday sanctioned a network of Iranian petrochemical firms, as well as alleged front companies in China and the United Arab Emirates, accusing them of helping Tehran to circumvent sanctions. “I am surprised (by the behaviour) of the Americans,” Raisi said, quoted by the official news agency IRNA. “On the one hand, they send a message in favour of negotiations and agreement, and…