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Iran dismisses U.S. sanctions of Iranians over alleged kidnap plot

[September 04, 2021] (Reuters) - Iran on Saturday dismissed new U.S. sanctions on four Iranians over an alleged plot to kidnap an Iranian-American journalist, saying the move reflects Washington’s "addiction to sanctions".

The U.S. Treasury Department on Friday sanctioned the four, saying they were intelligence operatives behind the failed plot.

"Supporters and merchants of sanctions, who see their sanctions tool box empty due to Iran’s maximum resistance, are now resorting to Hollywood scenarios to keep the sanctions alive,” the Foreign Ministry said in a tweet, quoting spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh.

"Washington must understand that it has no choice but to abandon its addiction to sanctions and respect Iran," he said.

The sanctions come after U.S. prosecutors in July charged the four with plotting to kidnap a New York-based journalist who was critical of Tehran. Reuters previously confirmed she was Iranian-American journalist Masih Alinejad.

Iran at the time called the alleged plot “ridiculous and baseless.”

Those sanctioned are senior Iran-based intelligence official Alireza Shahvaroghi Farahani and Iranian intelligence operatives Mahmoud Khazein, Kiya Sadeghi and Omid Noori, the Treasury Department said.

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Iranian American journalist Alinejad Masih shows an FBI car guarding outside her apartment in this still image from an undated social media video posted on July 14, 2021. Twitter/@ALINEJADMASIH via REUTERS/File Photo

The sanctions block all property of the four in the United States or in U.S. control, and prohibit any transactions between them and U.S. citizens. Other non-Americans who conduct certain transactions with the four could also be subjected to U.S. sanctions, the department said.

(Editing by William Mallard)

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