Tehran reacts to new US sanctions on its energy sector

In a statement on Sunday, Esmaeil Baghaei strongly condemned the “illegal and unjustifiable” US sanctions on Iran’s energy sector that have been imposed on the pretext that the Iranian armed forces have carried out a defense operation against the military objectives of the Zionist regime.

The US Treasury Department on Friday imposed sanctions on companies and ships allegedly involved in the trade and transport of Iranian oil, in response to Iran’s recent missile attack on Israeli military posts in the occupied territories.

Baghaei stressed that Iran’s missile strike against Israel was a legitimate action under international law as Tehran exercised its inherent right of self-defense, while the US decision to impose sanctions “have no legal or logical basis” and are tantamount to paying a ransom to the rogue Israeli regime.

Highlighting the “negative and destructive” role of the United States in disrupting the security and stability of West Asia, the spokesman said: “The US, known as the main political sponsor and the main supplier of weapons used by the regime Zionist in the genocide in Gaza and the aggression in Lebanon, he is an accomplice and accomplice of the (Israeli) regime in the commitment of the most heinous international crimes.”

Baghaei held the US government responsible internationally for imposing sanctions against Iran under the pretext of supporting the Zionist regime, saying the sanctions would only embolden the Israeli regime and encourage it to continue massacring innocent people and endangering regional and international peace and security.

The spokesman reaffirmed Iran’s right to an appropriate response to US sanctions, adding: “The US regime’s addiction to the policy of maximum threat and pressure against the Iranian nation has no effect on the determination of the Islamic Republic of Iran to safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity, national interests and citizens against any act of foreign aggression.”

MNA/TSN