Tehran condemns Canada’s new sanctions against Iranian officials
The Iranian Foreign Ministry on Friday strongly condemned the Canadian government’s move to impose sanctions on four Iranian officials based on “unfounded” human rights allegations.
Forouzandeh Vadiati, the director general for women and human rights at Iran's Foreign Ministry, in a statement described the sanctions as a meddlesome move stemming from the arrogant mindset of Ottawa’s decision-makers.
Vadiati emphasized the lack of any legal or moral basis for Canada’s action.
“The Canadian government, as the inheritor of the systematic repression of Indigenous peoples’ human rights and as a party with a long record of complicity with Israel’s genocidal regime in the killing of the Palestinian people and aggression against other countries in the region, has no legitimacy to make hypocritical human rights claims against Iran,” she said.
She also stressed that Canada’s unilateral sanctions against Iran target the economic, social, and cultural rights of the Iranian people, and that the Canadian government must be held accountable for the consequences of its actions, which in some cases amount to crimes against humanity.
Her remarks came after Canada in a Monday statement announced a new round of sanctions on four senior Iranian officials over their role on what it claims to be crackdown on protests and dissent in Iran.
Canada’s Foreign Minister Anita Anand said that the four officials are being listed under the Special Economic Measures (Iran) Regulations for what she called facilitating and directing repressive policies in the Islamic Republic.
With its latest move, Canada has imposed 18 rounds of sanctions since October 2022 on Iranian officials and entities over alleged human rights violations. It has sanctioned more than 210 Iranian individuals and 254 Iranian entities.