Iran: US sanctions target access to food, medicine
DUBAI: Iran’s foreign minister denounced renewed US sanctions against its central bank as an attempt to deny ordinary Iranians access to food and medicine, and said the move was a sign of US desperation.
The United States on Friday imposed a new round of sanctions on Iran, some aimed at its central bank and sovereign wealth fund, following attacks on oil facilities in Saudi Arabia that Riyadh and US officials have blamed on Iran.
Iran denies involvement in the attacks, which initially halved oil output from Saudi Arabia. Responsibility was claimed by Yemen’s Houthi movement, an Iranian-aligned group fighting a Saudi-led alliance in Yemen’s civil war.
“This is a sign of US desperation ... When they repeatedly sanction the same institution, this means their attempt at bringing the Iranian nation to its knees under ‘maximum pressure’ has failed,” Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told reporters in remarks shown on state television.
“But this is dangerous and unacceptable as an attempt at blocking ... the Iranian people’s access to food and medicine,” Zarif said, speaking after arriving in New York for the annual UN General Assembly next week.
Meanwhile, there were reports on social media that a number of Iranian servers and websites – including those of some petrochemical firms – were under a cyber-attack.
There was no immediate official comment, and the websites of the main state oil company NIOC appeared to be functioning normally. Residents said their internet access was not affected.
NetBlocks, an organisation that monitors internet connectivity, said its data showed “intermittent disruptions” to some internet services in Iran starting from Friday evening.
But the group said the impact was limited, affecting only specific providers, and the cause was unclear.
“Data are consistent with a cyber-attack or unplanned technical incident on affected networks as opposed to a purposeful withdrawal or shutdown incident,” it said in a tweet.