In a statement issued on Friday, August 28, the Foreign Ministry said the US government, continuing its hostile and unlawful policies against Iran, unveiled a new wave of economic terrorism under the title of “Operation Economic Outcast,” describing it as “US state terrorism against Iran and the world.”
The ministry said the US abuse of the dollar as a tool to intimidate other countries and force them to follow Washington’s interventionist policies, which violate international law in relation to Iran, constitutes a violation of the national sovereignty and right to self-determination of all UN member states.
It described US sanctions against Iran, because of both their nature and consequences, as a gross violation of the UN Charter. The sanctions, it said, violate the principle of “prohibition of intervention in the internal affairs of states” and the principle of “rejection of any obstruction to cooperation between states.”
The Foreign Ministry said the declaration of economic war against Iran is a continuation of the aggressive war that the US and the Israeli regime waged against Iran over the past year.
“These actions are all violations of international law,” it said, criticizing the indifference and appeasement of the UN system and its member states toward gross violations of international law by the US and the Zionist regime.
According to the Foreign Ministry, such conduct has allowed a highly dangerous pattern of lawlessness and the commission of the gravest international crimes to emerge, with consequences that place the entire human civilization at an unprecedented risk.
The ministry said the very nature of “Operation Economic Outcast” demonstrates the criminal intent of its designers and implementers to impose pain and suffering on the Iranian people and deprive Iranian citizens of their fundamental human rights.
“It therefore constitutes an international crime and a crime against humanity,” the statement said.
The Foreign Ministry described the policy as an explicit violation of fundamental human rights rules contained in human rights declarations and covenants and as contrary to Paragraph 2 of Article 1 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
The Foreign Ministry also said the US sanctions constitute a continuing violation of the October 3, 2018, order of the International Court of Justice, which requires the United States to remove all obstacles and restrictions to the free flow of trade, including food and agricultural products, medicines and medical equipment, essential civil aviation safety equipment and services, and related funds.
The ministry said the new US sanctions policy has created a new situation and that the international community, including UN organs, must take necessary measures to safeguard the rule of law and the principles of the UN Charter.
“US economic sanctions against Iran, regardless of their name or title, are completely unlawful and unjustified measures that violate the UN Charter, international humanitarian law and human rights,” the statement said.
“On this basis, all countries are obliged to refrain from implementing such sanctions,” it added, stressing that all states are also required to refrain from recognizing or endorsing situations or effects resulting from these unlawful measures.
The Foreign Ministry warned that participation in enforcing unilateral US sanctions against Iran amounts to complicity in imposing the unlawful will of one state on independent states and disrupting their legitimate economic and trade relations.
Such participation, it said, would amount to taking part in undermining the most important principle of the UN Charter: “respect for the sovereign equality” of states.
Concluding the statement, the Foreign Ministry condemned US economic terrorism against Iran and stressed the Iranian nation’s determination to use all available capacities to defend the homeland against the US-Israeli military-economic assault and hybrid war.
The ministry expressed confidence that the Iranian people, united and drawing on their rich civilizational heritage and inspiring religious and national teachings, as well as their extensive experience over recent decades, would thwart the hostile actions of their adversaries and further strengthen the country’s power and authority.
