Iran slams US allegations of 'malicious cyber activity' as 'baseless'
The spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry says the US cannot deflect the growing wave of international criticism by making unfounded allegations.
Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Nasser Kanaani expressed Tehran's categorical rejection of the United States' accusation of "malicious cyber activity" against some Iranian individuals and firms.
The US Treasury Department announced Tuesday imposing sanctions against four Iranian individuals and two companies, claiming that the four individuals had also been indicted "for their roles in cyber activity targeting US entities."
"These actors targeted more than a dozen US companies and government entities through cyber operations, including spear phishing and malware attacks," on behalf of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps, it alleged.
Kanaani stressed on Wednesday that "American authorities cannot deflect the growing wave of international criticism of US policies in supporting war crimes and genocide by the Zionist regime in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank" by accusing Iranian individuals and entities of unfounded allegations and cracking down on demonstrators in the US.
The Iranian diplomat advised Washington to end its military and financial support "of the apartheid and occupying Zionist regime" and stop its international policies in support of "Israel" instead of leveling "baseless allegations" against other nations.
He slammed the United States' pro-"Israel" policies as harmful to the "oppressed Palestinian nation."
The United States, Britain, and the European Union have all imposed new sanctions against Iran in recent days following its mid-April attack on Israeli targets in retaliation for the Israeli aggression that targeted the Iranian consulate in the Syrian capital Damascus on April 1.
Iran's representative to the United Nations, Amir Saeid Iravani, confirmed that Iran's Operation True Promise came within the framework of self-defense and as permitted by international law, and only targeted military sites to avoid civilian targets, in contrast to the Israeli aggression that targeted Syria.
Read more: Iran's FM slams EU inaction, urges bloc to sanction 'Israel'