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Russian Foreign Ministry called new U.S. sanctions against two Russian companies and an individual "clumsy" and "routine".
In a statement published on its official website, the ministry said Russia supplied oil to the regime forces because they fought against terrorism.
"Trying to put pressure on Russia, Washington repeatedly demonstrates its inability to force our country to change its independent line on the world stage," it said.
Iran has condemned a fresh round of U.S. sanctions imposed for alleged “terrorism financing” by Tehran.On Tuesday, the U.S. Treasury Department announced the sanctions, which target an “international network” including five individuals and four companies.The sanctions are ostensibly aimed at halting oil sales to Syria’s Assad regime.“Those who design and apply these futile and ineffective sanctions will never achieve their desired aims,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi said in a statement.Targets of the sanctions allegedly comprise a “network” through which the Iranian regime works in tandem with Russian companies to supply the Syrian regime with oil.Damascus, in turn, has allegedly facilitated the transfer of hundreds of millions of dollars to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force (IRGC-QF) for subsequent transfer to Hamas and Hezbollah.Tension between Washington and Tehran has mounted since May, when U.S. President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew his country from a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and the P5 1 group of nations (the five permanent UN Security Council members plus Germany).The agreement had placed strict restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for billions of dollars in sanctions relief.In July, the U.S. State Department announced its intention to reduce Iranian oil revenue to zero. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani swiftly responded by warning the U.S. against impeding Iranian oil exports.The following month, the U.S. re-imposed a first round of economic sanctions on Iran, which mainly targeted the country’s banking sector.A second phase of sanction targeting Iran’s energy sector came into effect on Nov. 5, although Washington granted temporary waivers to the eight largest purchasers of Iranian oil -- including Turkey -- for a 180-day period.
Iran decries latest round of US sanctions
U.S. politicians have to emerge from the illusion of omnipotence and realise the impossibility to influence Russia by the means of sanctions, it said.
On Tuesday, the U.S. Treasury published a new sanction list which includes six individuals and three companies for assistance in the supply of oil to the Syrian government.
The restrictions affected two Russian enterprises of Global Vision Group and Promsyreimport and the deputy director general Andrey Dogayev of the second company.
In addition, restrictions were put on two Iranians, one Lebanese, one Syrian and one Iraqi, as well as a company registered in Iran.