The US decision to impose sanctions on Russia was criticized by the Iranian Foreign Ministry. In a statement, Tehran described the latest US move as a false step. The statement was issued by the Foreign Ministry spokesperson Saeed Khatibzadeh.
In the statement, Tehran said that implementing sanctions that are based on unfounded claims has become an institutional policy, and the change in the US administration did not affect this approach. Saeed Khatibzadeh emphasized his country’s stance rejecting the US sanctions on Russia.
On Thursday, the Biden administration announced that it imposed a series of sanctions on Russia due to alleged Russian interference in the 2020 US election and cyber-attacks. In a statement issued by the US Treasury Department, it was announced that “the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) took sweeping action against 16 entities and 16 individuals who attempted to influence the 2020 US presidential election at the direction of the leadership of the Russian Government.”
Within this framework, the US financial institutions are banned to involve transaction processes in the primary market for ruble or non-ruble denominated bonds issued after June 14 by Russia’s Central Bank, the National Wealth Fund, or Ministry of Finance. Apart from this, the Biden administration decided to expel 10 Russian diplomats.
In response, Russia announced that it would ask 10 US diplomats to leave the country. Also, eight top US officials would be blacklisted, and working conditions for US diplomats in Russia would be toughened, Russian Foreign Ministry Sergey Lavrov said.
The US decision to impose sanctions on Russia came after the phone call, which was held between Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin over tensions in the Black Sea last week.
