Iran condemns ‘illegal and unjustified’ US sanctions on oil industry: ministry – Times of India

TEHRAN: Iran condemned on Sunday what it called the “illegal and unjustified” expansion of the US sanctions targeting its oil industry after Tehran’s missile attack on Israel earlier this month.
In a statement, foreign ministry speaker Esmail Bagai defended Iran’s attack on Israel and “strongly condemned” the sanctions, saying they were “illegal and unjustified”.
The United States hit Iran on Friday with a series of new sanctions on the country’s oil and petrochemical industries in response to Tehran’s Oct. 1 attack on Israel.
Baghai defended Iran’s attack on Israel as legal and insisted on Iran’s right to respond to the new sanctions.
The US Treasury Department said it was targeting the so-called shadow fleet of vessels involved in the sale of Iranian oil in circumvention of existing sanctions.
He said he had designated at least 10 companies and 17 ships as “blocked property” because of their involvement in supplying Iranian oil and petrochemical products.
The State Department also announced it was imposing sanctions on six more firms and six vessels for “knowingly engaging in a significant transaction to buy, acquire, sell, transport or market oil or petroleum products from Iran.”
Baghai said the “policy of threats and maximum pressure” had no effect on “Iran’s will to defend its sovereignty, territorial integrity, national interests and citizens against any violations and foreign aggressions.”
He said the sanctions would allow Israel to “continue to kill innocents and pose a threat to the peace and unity of the region and the world.”
The new wave of sanctions comes as the world awaits Israel’s promised response to Tehran’s missile attack, with oil prices hitting their highest levels since August.
Earlier this month, US President Joe Biden advised Israel against targeting oil infrastructure in Iran, one of the world’s 10 largest producers.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned last Tuesday that “any attack on infrastructure in Iran will trigger an even stronger response.”