Iran says expansion of US, EU bans on Syria ‘unlawful, inhumane’

Iran has condemned the expansion of EU and US sanctions against Syria, calling it an inhumane tool that seriously endangers human rights.

The European Union’s move to renew its sanctions against Syria and the United States’ introduction of new financial bans against the Arab country are unlawful and inhumane, Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said on Friday.

“Most of the negative consequences and harms of such sanctions will be borne by the ordinary people and citizens of Syria,” the spokesman noted, describing sanction as an inhumane tool that directly and seriously jeopardizes human rights.

Mousavi expressed Tehran’s solidarity with the “resilient” nation and government of Syria, and called for the removal of all anti-human sanctions against Damascus “so that the Syrians can meet their basic needs and repair the damages caused byWestern-backed terrorist attacks against the country’s infrastructure with the help of the international community.”

His comments came shortly after the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control issued the Syria Sanctions Regulations, which implement a 2019 executive order authorizing asset freezing measures and travel bans against Syrian individuals and entities.

On Wednesday, Syria lambasted the United States for practicing "economic terrorism", saying the US new financial sanctions will intensify the sufferings of the Syrian people.

“The Syrian Arab Republic strongly condemns the imposition of further sanctions on it by the US administration through the so-called Caesar Act. The sanctions are based on a bunch of lies and fabricated claims by parties hostile to the Syrian nation. This falls within the framework of their declared war that uses various methods, including terrorism, economic blockade, political pressure and smear campaign,” an unnamed source with the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates said.

Last Friday, the European Council, headquarters of the 27 EU countries, announced in a statement the renewal of its sanctions against Syrian President Bashar Assad and other top political officials, military officers and business people for another year.

The sanctions would be extended until June 1, 2021, more than a decade after the Syrian conflict began.

Shortly after the renewal of sanctions, Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates censured the European Union (EU) over prolonging the bans against the war-ravaged Arab country for another year, stating such measures expose the hypocrisy of the bloc and spurious statements of its officials.

“These sanctions are a flagrant violation of the most basic humanitarian principles and the international law… They are a crime against humanity,” Syria’s official news agency SANA quoted an unnamed source at the ministry as saying.

He added, “It was no surprise for the EU to renew its sanctions on Syria, particularly as the United States had earlier taken the same step. The measure underlines that the EU has lost its independence in terms of decision-making, and is subjugated to US policies.”

On Thursday, Russian Foreign Ministry also condemned the European Union’s renewal of coercive sanctions imposed on Syria.

“Russia is disappointed because the European Union, like the US, has deliberately renewed the unilateral coercive measures imposed on Syria” Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said during a press conference.

The EU imposed the first round of its sanctions against Syria in May 2011. They include travel bans, asset freezes and measures targeting operations like oil imports, certain investments as well as technology transfer.

The bloc claims the measures are designed to avoid hindering the delivery of humanitarian aid.