Iran Condemns EU, US Sanctions on Syria

In a statement on Friday, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Seyed Abbas Mousavi described the intensification of the EU and US sanctions against the Syrian people as an unlawful and inhumane move, saying that most of its negative consequences and harms will be borne by the ordinary people and citizens of Syria.

Mousavi added that the sanctions are an inhumane tool that directly and seriously jeopardizes human rights.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran expresses solidarity with the resilient nation and government of Syria and calls for the lifting of all anti-human sanctions against Damascus so that the Syrians can meet their basic needs and repair the damages caused by Western-backed terrorist attacks against the country’s infrastructure with the help of the international community,” he said, according to Foreign Ministry’s website.

On Wednesday, the Syrian government condemned the new wave of US sanctions against the country, calling the measures “economic terrorism” that will increase the suffering of the Syrian people.

A Syrian Foreign Ministry statement said Washington’s so-called Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act, which goes into effect this month, is based on “lies and fabricated claims by enemies of the Syrian people.”

Late last month, the European Union also renewed its sanctions against Damascus for another year. The sanctions — which ban oil imports, certain investments, technology transfer that could aid the regime in repression and freezes Syrian Central Bank assets inside the EU — were first initiated in 2011.