Iran said the new US sanctions on its ballistic-missile program were illegal because of US arms sales in the Middle East.
“There is no legitimacy to American sanctions on Iran’s ballistic-missile program,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossein Jaberi Ansari said at a televised press conference on Monday.
The United States had imposed new sanctions on Iranian companies and individuals following Iran’s recent ballistic-missile test. The measures prevent 11 companies and individuals linked to the missile program from using US banks.
Ansari added: “America sells tens of billions of dollars’ worth of weapons to countries in the region every year. These weapons are used in war crimes against Palestinian and Lebanese civilians, and more recently against Yemenis.”
He said Iran’s missile program was not designed to carry nuclear weapons, according to the Iranian Students’ News Agency.
Prisoner-Exchange Talks
The new sanctions came after international sanctions on Iran’s nuclear program were lifted as part of an agreement US President Barack Obama described as “smart.”
Four Iranian-Americans were also released in a prisoner exchange as part of the agreement. Among them was Washington Post journalist Jason Rezaian, whom Obama described as “brave.”