US sanctions on Iran ‘crimes against humanity’: Envoy

Iran’s permanent representative to Vienna-based international organizations has censured as “crimes against humanity” the unilateral US sanctions on the Islamic Republic and said Washington’s so-called maximum pressure campaign on Tehran would not be subscribed to in the country.

Kazem Gharibabadi made the remarks in a post on his Instagram account on Saturday after the US administration defied Europe’s humanitarian objections and levied sanctions on more than a dozen Iranian banks.

“The criminal actions of the American regime in threatening the lives of ordinary people through economic terrorism have no end. In yet another move, the regime placed 18 Iranian banks on its sanctions list,” said Gharibabadi.

“On the one hand, they claim that the import of medicine and food is not sanctioned, and on the other hand, they completely block the existing channels for paying the import costs of these items. By now, this dirty and deviant American game should be known to everyone,” he added.

The Iranian diplomat said the United States that boasts of human rights, in which itself has a black record, has directly endangered the lives of ordinary people and their right to life as an inalienable human right.

Referring to comments made by American officials that the US would continue to exert “maximum pressure” on Iran to bring Tehran to the negotiating table, Gharibabadi said, “The United States should have realized by now that this strategy is not bought in Iran.”

Stressing that such sanctions are not a new phenomenon and have mostly propaganda as well as political purposes, the Iranian envoy said, “It should be noted, however, that unilateral and illegal US sanctions, of any kind and at any level, are crimes against humanity.”

Gharibabadi also pointed out that all domestic, political, international and legal capacities should be used to deal with such crimes.

The US Treasury Department announced sanctions on 18 Iranian banks on Thursday with the aim of cutting off the Islamic Republic from the world's financial system.

US targets Iran's financial sector, imposes sanctions on 18 banks

The United States has targeted Iran’s financial sector by imposing sanctions on 18 Iranian banks, in defiance of Europe’s humanitarian objections.

The Treasury Department failed to come up with any specific accusations against most of the banks and just claimed that the Iranian financial sector may be used to support the government's nuclear program and its "malign regional influence."

Despite claims made by the US Treasury that the sanctions will not apply to transactions for the provision of agricultural commodities, food, medicine or medical devices to Iran, European diplomats have asserted that US sanctions will have dire humanitarian consequences.

Majid Takht-Ravanchi, the Iranian envoy to the United Nations, also blasted the sanctions at a meeting of the UN General Assembly and said the so-called US maximum pressure campaign against the Islamic Republic was an “example of state terrorism” aimed at creating suffering and social unrest in the country.

US pressure campaign against Iran ‘example of state terrorism’: Envoy to UN

The Iranian envoy to the United Nations (UN) has lambasted the so-called US maximum pressure on the Islamic Republic as an “example of state terrorism” aimed at creating suffering and social unrest in the country.

The new sanctions come in blatant defiance of growing international calls for Washington to ease its Iran sanctions, which have severely prevented the country’s access to lifesaving medical items as the world is grappling to contain the deadly virus.

Iran has been battling the deadliest pandemic the world has seen in many decades amid sanctions.

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