TEHRAN - Defense Minister Amir Hatami said on Wednesday that sanctions will not affect the armed forces’ determination and activities.

“Sanctions will have no effect on the armed forces. Our armed forces are being managed by relying on domestic capabilities and such moves [imposition of sanctions] will not affect armed forces’ determination,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the cabinet meeting.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced sanctions on the Iranian military and a number of top military commanders in a press release on November 4. The move coincided with the 40th anniversary of the takeover of the former U.S. embassy in Tehran.

The department said that it took action against the General Staff of Iran’s Armed Forces and its chairman Major General Mohammad Hossein Baqeri.

It also slapped sanctions on former defense minister Hossein Dehqan and commander of the IRGC's Khatam al-Anbiya headquarters Major General Qolam Ali Rashid.

The new sanctions also targeted officials at Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's Office, including its chief of staff.

It also sanctioned Iranian Judiciary Chief Seyed Ebrahim Raisi.

The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), in a statement published on Friday, condemned the U.S. fresh sanctions against Iran’s armed forces, saying the move will make the revolutionary forces to counter the enemies more strongly. 

“The U.S. fresh sanctions against the country’s armed forces and some senior commanders is provocative and will only make the armed forces and defenders of the Islamic Revolution more vigorous and willful to counter the Great Satan (U.S.) and the White House’ allies,” the statement read.

NA/PA