Iran denounces Trump's reinstatement of Cuba on terror list 'unjustified'

Iran condemned the “unjustified, baseless and rejected” move by US President Donald Trump to reinstate Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism, stressing that such unilateral actions further weaken the rule of law at the international level.

News ID: 5847

Date: 23 January 2025 - 21:03

TABNAK, Jan 23: “The US has a long history of using such baseless and arbitrary designations, as well as defamation of independent countries as a tool to advance own foreign agenda,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said on Thursday.

The decision, he said, is contrary to the principles and norms of international law and an excuse for the imposition of unilateral and cruel sanctions against independent nations.

“Such unilateral actions by a permanent member of the Security Council not only violate the fundamental human rights of the Cuban people but also further weaken the rule of law at the international level and promote lawlessness. They must face opposition from the international community,” he said.

On January 20, just hours after his inauguration to a second term, Trump reinstated Cuba as state sponsor of terrorism, reversing an executive order issued by former US president Joe Biden just a week earlier.

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel responded on social media late on Monday, calling Trump's decision to revoke Biden's measures an “act of mockery and abuse.”

Cuba’s Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez also criticized the reinstatement of the terrorism designation, calling it “a tool of political coercion” rather than a genuine effort to combat terrorism.

Experts believe that Trump's reversal aligns with his administration's hardline stance on Cuba and is supported by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has long advocated for sanctions against the island nation.

Rubio's parents were Cubans who immigrated to the United States in 1956 during the regime of Fulgencio Batista, two and a half years before Fidel Castro ascended to power after the Cuban Revolution.