Iran says new US sanctions illegitimate, citing war crimes against Palestinians

Iran on Monday said new US curbs on the Islamic Republics ballistic missile program were illegitimate, vowing to continue developing its conventional military deterrent.The United States imposed sanctions on 11 companies and individuals on Sunday for supplying Irans ballistic missile program in a move delayed by over two weeks so as not to endanger this weekends release of US prisoners.The new measures also came after the lifting of far more comprehensive nuclear sanctions.”The Islamic Republic will respond to these aggravating and propagandistic measures by pursuing its legal missile program stronger than before and developing its defensive capabilities,” a foreign ministry statement said.Iran conducted a ballistic missile test in October, which the United Nations called a breach of a resolution prohibiting the Islamic Republic from developing missiles capable of delivering nuclear warheads. Iran insists the missile was designed to carry a conventional payload.Foreign ministry spokesman Hossein Jaberi Ansari said Washingtons sales of weaponry to allies in the Middle East, worth tens of billions of dollars each year, was used to commit “war crimes against Palestinian, Lebanese and most recently Yemeni citizens.””The US sanctions against Irans ballistic missile program … have no legal or moral legitimacy,” he said.

 

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