Statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Condemning the U.S. Action

in Sanctioning Iran’s Ambassador to Lebanon and a Number of Lebanese Officials and Citizens

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran strongly condemns the illegal and unjustified action of the U.S. Department of the Treasury in sanctioning Mohammad Reza Raouf Sheibani, the appointed Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran to Beirut, and considers this action another example of the defiance and disregard of the U.S. ruling administration for the established principles of international law and the United Nations Charter, particularly the fundamental principle of respect for the national sovereignty of states.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also strongly condemns the U.S. action in sanctioning a number of Hezbollah members of the Lebanese Parliament, officials from the Amal Movement, and several Lebanese military and security officials. These contemptible actions are aimed at undermining Lebanon’s national sovereignty and sowing discord within Lebanese society, and signify the continued complicity of the U.S. ruling administration with the aggressive and occupying Zionist regime in perpetuating military aggression and committing heinous crimes against Lebanon.

Undoubtedly, the various Lebanese groups and factions, by preserving national unity and cohesion, will defend Lebanon’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity, and by repelling the aggressions and ending the occupation of the Zionist regime in Lebanon, they will thwart that regime’s sinister objectives.

The Islamic Republic of Iran is determined to strengthen its friendly and historic relations with the Republic of Lebanon in various dimensions, in line with the interests of the two nations.