Tehran: US sanctions against Iran’s Intelligence Ministry illegal

Spokesman of Iran’s Foreign Ministry Nasser Kan’ani has condemned the United State’s move to impose sanctions against the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence.

In a statement on Saturday, Kan’ani said that the fact that the US threw its immediate support behind Albania’s baseless accusations against Iran and imposed new sanctions on Tehran shows that Washington itself is behind the cyber attacks which targeted the Balkan country.

On Wednesday, Albania severed diplomatic ties with Tehran, accusing it of orchestrating a “cyberattack” against Tirana and ordering Iranian diplomats and embassy staff to leave within 24 hours, Press TV reported.

Two days later, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said it had designated Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and its Minister of Intelligence for what it called engaging in cyber-enabled activities against the United States and its allies.

“Such a scenario has been created by the US administration itself against Iran, not the government of Albania, and Tirana has fallen victim to this scenario,” Kan’ani said.

He added that these sanctions, just like the previous illegal US actions against the Iranian ministry, would not prevent its personnel by any means from serving the Iranian people and ensuring their security.

Hamda Mustafa