Iran calls new US sanctions 'economic terrorism,' crime against humanity

Iran's Foreign Ministry strongly condemned the United States' sweeping new sanctions targeting the country, calling them "economic terrorism" and "a crime against humanity."

In a statement Thursday, the ministry said the US government had announced "extensive economic and trade sanctions against the Iranian people," describing the move as "a sign of the hostility of American policymakers toward the Iranian people over 73 years" and confirmation of "the anti-human, illegal and hegemonic nature of the US government."

The ministry said American economic sanctions targeting the basic human rights of all Iranian citizens "constitute undeniable economic terrorism and a crime against humanity."

It went on to say that "those who order and enforce these sanctions must be indicted and punished for committing such blatant crimes."

The ministry also said the sanctions came after the failure of what it described as a year-and-a-half-long US-Israeli war against Iran.

The statement dismissed the measures, saying that after the failure of "their wicked goal of subjugating the Iranian people to their illegal and anti-human ambitions," the sanctions would ultimately "only add to the list of crimes the United States has committed against Iran."

The ministry reaffirmed Iran's resolve to resist Washington, saying the sanctions "will certainly have no effect on the firm determination of the Iranian people to defend their independence, dignity and national sovereignty."