ALWAGHT- The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson criticized the latest US sanctions targeting Iranian individuals, describing them as evidence of America's deep-seated hostility toward the Iranian people.
In a strongly worded statement released on Saturday night, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei condemned the latest round of US sanctions imposed by the Treasury Department. The new designations target more than 30 individuals and entities, both Iranian and foreign, allegedly involved in financial transactions and banking activities connected to Iran.
Baghaei denounced the measures as part of Washington's ongoing “maximum pressure” campaign—a policy he described as not only inhumane and strategically failed but also fundamentally illegal under international law. He asserted that such actions blatantly violate established legal principles and global norms governing state conduct and economic relations.
“These sanctions,” Baghaei declared, “are another glaring reflection of the deep-rooted hostility harbored by the current US administration toward the Iranian people. Despite their repeated claims to support human rights and diplomacy, American officials continue to pursue punitive measures that target civilians and infringe upon their fundamental rights.”
He added that the sanctions are deliberately designed to increase economic and psychological pressure on Iranian citizens by disrupting access to international markets and financial services. This, he said, is an unjust and coercive tactic that only deepens the suffering of the population while failing to produce any tangible policy change.
Baghaei further stressed that far from weakening Iran’s resolve, such measures only solidify the nation's commitment to resisting foreign coercion. “The Iranian people,” he said, “will not be intimidated by economic warfare. Instead, they will continue to defend their sovereign rights and national dignity with greater determination.”
The new sanctions, announced on June 6 by the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), accuse the targeted individuals and companies of helping to launder billions of dollars through international financial channels, allegedly on behalf of the Iranian government. OFAC claims these networks utilize Iranian currency exchange firms and foreign front companies to bypass existing sanctions frameworks.
Iran, however, has repeatedly rejected such accusations, arguing that the US weaponizes financial systems to achieve political ends, undermining global economic stability and violating the rights of sovereign nations.
The Foreign Ministry concluded the statement by reaffirming Iran’s readiness to counter any such unilateral and aggressive moves through legal, diplomatic, and political means, while also calling on the international community to hold the US accountable for what it characterized as blatant overreach and collective punishment.