Ghasemi's Reaction to New US Sanctions Against Several Iranian Citizens

The spokesperson for Iran's Foreign Ministry described the US Treasury Department's action of imposing sanctions on several Iranian citizens due to cyberattacks against the United States as "political," "ill-considered," "baseless," and "contrary to all recognized legal and international norms." According to the state news agency IRNA, Bahram Ghasemi on Sunday, September 17, called the accusation of involvement of several Iranian citizens in cyberattacks against the US "irrelevant and unfounded" and stated that the sanctions against these individuals are "incompatible with the basic rights of individuals for access and free circulation of information and cyberspace." Mr. Ghasemi also accused the US, without providing evidence, of having "always been one of the countries of origin and center of cyberattacks against the institutions, organizations, and government centers of Iran" in recent years. He emphasized that the US sanctions against these individuals "can only be interpreted as part of the continuation of the Iranophobia and anti-Iran policies of the ruling officials in the White House." On Thursday, September 14, the US Treasury imposed sanctions on 11 entities and individuals aimed at countering the missile program of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the activities of the Quds Force outside Iran, and cyberattacks against the United States. The Treasury sanctioned the engineering company Sadi Karan Saba due to activities related to the IRGC's ballistic missile program and the airlines "Dart" and "Khoras" in Ukraine for providing services to airlines associated with the IRGC's Quds Force. However, the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson did not mention the sanctions against companies related to the IRGC in his remarks on Sunday, only protesting the sanctions against several Iranian citizens for cyberattacks against the United States. He stressed that "the new sanctions against Iranian citizens are another example of Iran's suffering and the creation of restrictions and limitations against the people of Iran who have stood against the excessive demands and aggressive policies of the US." The US Treasury, in its statement on Thursday, named the company Marsad and individuals associated with it, as well as the "IT Security Group," accusing them of playing a role in cyberattacks against US economic institutions. The Treasury also sanctioned individuals including Sadegh Ahmadzadegan, Ahmad Fathi, Hamid Firoozi, Omid Ghafarnia, Sina Kisar, Nader Saidi, Amin Shekohi, and the company "Amin Pardazesh Khwarazmi" for cyberattacks against the United States. The addition of these individuals to the sanctions list related to Iran's missile program coincided with the extension of the suspension of sanctions related to the Vienna nuclear agreement. Washington must review the sanctions related to the Iran nuclear deal every 120 days and decide whether to continue or suspend them. The last 120-day suspension was made at the end of May. This time, the authorization for the suspension of these sanctions was issued despite criticism from officials of Donald Trump's administration regarding the principle of the Vienna nuclear agreement. However, alongside this action, the US President reiterated that Iran, through its actions, ignores the "spirit" of the nuclear agreement, and the United States will not tolerate such behavior. According to the US, Iran is committed to participating in international peace and stability under the JCPOA, but actions such as "pursuing ballistic missile programs," "involvement in escalating conflicts in Syria, Yemen, Iraq, and Lebanon," and "supporting attacks on Israel" contradict this commitment.