Alwaght- Islamic Republic of Iran has condemned recent US sanctions against Iranian nationals, saying Washington wont's benefit from such gimmicks.
In a statement, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi has condemned the new US sanctions against several Iranian nationals and an engineering company as an act of provocation, saying the policy will fail to prevent the technological progress of the Iranian nation.
"The US will definitely not benefit from the sanctions gimmick aimed at stopping or preventing the scientific growth of the Iranian people," Qassemi said in a statement early on Saturday morning.
On Friday, the administration of US President Donald Trump imposed sanctions against 10 Iranian nationals and a tech firm over allegations of launching what it described as "state-sponsored hacking campaigns" against several US and foreign universities as well as dozens of US companies and government agencies.
Qassemi condemned the sanctions as "provocative, illegal and unreasonable," calling them a vivid example of Washington's hostility against the Iranian nation.
Washington has adopted a much more belligerent stance against the Islamic Republic since Trump took office in January 2017.
The latest sanctions come days after Britain, France and Germany proposed new European Union sanctions on Iran over its missile program and its regional role.
The proposal is allegedly part of an EU strategy to appease US President Donald Trump and preserve the nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), amid constant US threats to withdraw from it.
Trump has repeatedly described the JCPOA, which was negotiated under his predecessor Barack Obama, as “the worst and most one-sided transaction Washington has ever entered into,” a characterization he often used during his presidential campaign, and threatened to tear it up.
Reacting to reports about the sanctions proposal by the EU, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said Saturday any new sanctions that undermine the nuclear accord will go against the Europeans' pledges at the commission's meeting.
He noted that any such move to appease the US will be a big mistake that will affect the very existence of the nuclear agreement.
