WANA (Jul 31) – Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Esmail Baghaei, strongly condemned the latest U.S. sanctions targeting a number of individuals, entities, and vessels linked to Iran’s oil and energy sector.

 

Baghaei described the “illegal and oppressive” measures as clear evidence of Washington’s hostility toward the Iranian people. Citing the recent U.S. and Israeli military strikes on Iran’s territorial integrity, he stressed that Iranians, fully aware of the “malicious intent” behind these sanctions, will stand firm in defending their dignity and national interests.

 

He criticized what he called America’s “addiction to unilateralism and unlawful coercive tools,” saying such actions undermine fundamental principles of international law, including respect for state sovereignty and freedom of trade, and warned that they place the world “under unprecedented threats.”

 

Calling the new sanctions on Iran’s oil trade a “malicious attempt to damage economic development and the welfare of the Iranian people,” Baghaei asserted that the measures are “criminal, a violation of human rights, and amount to crimes against humanity.” He said the U.S. government must be held accountable for the severe human rights violations caused by these unlawful sanctions.

 

Recalling what he described as “seven decades of U.S. crimes against the Iranian nation—from coups and sabotage to sanctions, economic terrorism, and war,” Baghaei stressed that “neither sanctions nor threats can shake the resolve of the Iranian people in pursuing their lofty goals of safeguarding national sovereignty and building their country.”

 

WANA - U.S.- Sanctions

The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced on Wednesday that Washington has imposed the largest package of sanctions against Iran since 2018. According to OFAC, more than 50 individuals and entities have been blacklisted, along with over 50 vessels allegedly linked to what it claimed was a “vast shipping empire controlled by Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani.”

 

The sanctions are part of what Washington describes as renewed efforts to increase pressure on Iran and its regional allies, particularly in the energy and maritime sectors.