Spokesman Deplores US Hostile Policies against Iran

TEHRAN (defapress) - Iranian foreign ministry spokesman warned Washington about continued hostile policies against Iran and blasted the US Treasury for slapping bans on a number of Iranian individuals over alleged involvement in cyberattacks on US banks.

News ID: 65970

Date: 18 September 2017 - 12:10

In a Sunday statement, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi condemned the US Treasury for imposing sanctions against a few Iranian nationals, describing the move as "politically motivated, ill-assessed and groundless."

Qassemi said over the past few years, the United States has been one of the sources of cyber-attacks against Iranian entities, organizations and governmental institutions.

"The incorrect and baseless accusation leveled against Iranian citizens about their involvement in cyberattacks is an irrelevant and unjustified claim and in contradiction to the basic rights of individuals to have free access to information and cyberspace,” Qassemi said.

"The measure adopted by the US administration is against all recognized legal and international norms.”

"The United States’ recent move is merely in line with continued policy of Iranophobia adopted by statesmen ruling the White House,” he underscored.

He warned the US government against continuing such hostile policies against Iran, and urged American decision-makers and policy-makers to act wisely and care about the consequences of their failed and wrong policies.

The remarks by the Iranian spokesman came after the US Treasury Department on Thursday announced economic sanctions on 11 individuals and companies in Iran accused of supporting the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) or engaging in cyberattacks on US banks.

The new sanctions targeted an engineering company, two air transport firms and an IT company accused of carrying out denial-of-service attacks on at least nine American financial institutions, including major banks and stock exchanges between 2011 and 2012.