Iran condemns sanctions by U.S., Britain, Canada

TEHRAN, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kanaani on Saturday strongly condemned the sanctions recently imposed by the United States, Britain, and Canada on a number of Iranian defense-related individuals and entities.

He made the remarks in a statement after the three countries imposed Thursday new sanctions on several Iranian individuals and companies, mainly targeting the country's drone and missile industries, as a response to Iran's massive retaliatory action against Israel earlier this month.

Kanaani also condemned the claims made by the European Parliament against Iran in a resolution it adopted on Thursday and blamed certain European countries for following the U.S. lead in adopting a "cruel approach" towards Tehran.

In the resolution, the European Parliament slammed Iran's drone and missile attack on Israel and called for further sanctions against Tehran.

Kanaani stressed that Iran's military capacities were in proportion to its needs to guarantee its national security, sovereignty, and territorial integrity, as well as its right to self-defense against any foreign threat and aggression.

He underscored that Iran is among the international community's important partners in ensuring regional and global peace and security.

The spokesman said the sanctions failed to affect the determination of Iran to strengthen its national power to "legitimately and decisively" defend the country and its people.

He also severely slammed the European Parliament for its double standard on Israel's deadly attack on April 1 on the Iranian consulate in Syria's capital Damascus and Tehran's defense against it.

Kanaani said the European Parliament was turning a blind eye to the main source and cause of the tension and insecurity in the Middle East, referring to "Israel's occupation, criminal approach in killing Palestinians and frequent violations of international laws."

The spokesman denounced the attempts of the U.S. and certain European countries to "fan the flames of conflicts instead of helping stop them."