Iran calls latest US sanctions an ‘insult’ to world order

TEHRAN, Iran – Iran said Wednesday that the latest round of U.S. sanctions is an “insult” to the international order that stems from “blind hostility.”

On Tuesday the U.S. imposed sanctions on businesses allegedly linked to the Basij, a volunteer wing of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard. The businesses include several banks as well as mining, industrial and trade companies.

The semi-official ISNA news agency on Wednesday quoted Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi as calling the new sanctions “cruel and unfair.”

The U.S. has steadily restored sanctions on Iran following President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear accord in May. Next month the U.S. plans to impose sanctions on Iran’s oil and gas industry.

Iran is already in the grip of an economic crisis, and has seen sporadic protests in recent months.

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said in a tweet Wednesday that the U.S. is targeting banks that facilitate the import of medicine and food.

“US addiction to sanctions is out of control,” he tweeted.