Iran slams new U.S. sanctions as sign of 'ill will'

Iran on Thursday criticized a decision by the United States to impose new sanctions on the Islamic republic, saying it shows the Americans have bad intentions towards its people.

The U.S. Treasury announced on Wednesday the newly imposed sanctions targeting several entities it accused of involvement in procuring supplies for Iran's ballistic missile program.

"This move is another sign of the U.S. government's ill will towards the Iranian people," Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said in a statement.

The step proves "the current U.S. administration, contrary to its claim, uses every opportunity to make baseless accusations and put pressure on the Iranian people," he added.

The United States said the new sanctions target Iranian national Mohammad Ali Hosseini and his "network of companies" as suppliers of the ballistic program.

The move followed an Iranian missile attack on Arbil, Iraq on March 13 and an "Iranian enabled" attack by Yemen's Huthi rebels on a Saudi oil facility on Friday, as well as other attacks by "Iranian proxies" on Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Iran had claimed responsibility for the March 13 missile strikes, saying they targeted an Israeli "strategic center", and warning of more such attacks.

The sanctions come at a time when the United States seems close to an agreement with Iran on its return to the 2015 nuclear deal.

The accord gave Iran much-needed sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program that would guarantee it could not develop a nuclear weapon -- something the Islamic republic has always denied seeking.

But it fell apart in 2018, when then-president Donald Trump withdrew the United States and re-imposed biting economic sanctions.

Iran, in response, began rolling back on most of its commitments under the accord.

"The U.S., while claiming it is ready to return to the full implementation of its obligations under the nuclear agreement, continues to fundamentally violate it and UN Security Council Resolution 2231," Khatibzadeh said.

Indirect negotiations between the arch-rivals, which have been underway in Vienna for nearly a year, have overcome most disagreements but outstanding issues remain.

Among them is a demand by Iran that its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which carried out the attack on Arbil, be removed from a U.S. terror blacklist.