TEHRAN - Australia’s rash decision to levy sanctions on Iranian individuals and firms has drawn criticism from Iran, asserting that doing so amounts to interfering in the internal affairs of the Islamic Republic and encouraging violence and hostility.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani on Saturday reminded Australia of its duty under international law to combat terrorism and hatred as well as upholding human rights values.

However, Canberra has a checkered human rights history that the international community should take into account, he added in a statement.

“Australia's latest anti-Iran action came while the nation's government for years consistently violated the fundamental rights of Australian aborigines, convicts, and asylum seekers,” he said, noting, “Additionally, it has provided refuge to terrorist and separatist organizations with an anti-Iran agenda.”

In reaction to what it called "egregious" human rights crimes and abuses, Australia on Saturday slapping Magnitsky-style penalties on 13 people and two businesses, according to Penny Wong, the country's foreign minister.

Canberra will impose restrictive measures on six Iranians, Iran’s morality police, the Basij volunteer force, and those who were involved in dealing with the rioters after Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman, died on September 16.

Based on the remarks made by the spokesman for the Iranian foreign ministry, various documented reports on human rights abuses in Australia have been submitted by international organizations.

Kanaani said Australia recently breached its human rights commitments by barring a delegation from an international organization opposed to torture from touring the detention facilities harboring asylum seekers in the country so as to obfuscate its brutal maltreatment.

After inspectors were refused access to various jails in Australia in October, the UN decided to put its anti-torture mission on moratorium, citing a "clear infringement" of international agreements.

In response to "obstructions it faced" while carrying out its duty, the UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (SPT), a treaty body entrusted with banning the mistreatment of detainees, stated in a news statement that it "had no other alternative" than to postpone its visit to Australia.

“Continuation of discredited Iranophobia campaign”

On Saturday, the Iranian foreign ministry spokesman also reacted to a joint Persian Gulf Cooperation Council-China statement, denouncing it as a repetition of the dismal "Iranophobic policy" by the certain countries on the southern shores of the Persian Gulf.

The PGCC states and China released a joint statement that contained anti-Iran statements. The statement was issued on Friday at the conclusion of the council's 43rd session in the Saudi capital Riyadh, which also marked the end of Chinese President Xi Jinping's official visit to the country.

The statement was blasted as a "desperate effort" by the council members "to disguise their financial, political, and logistical support for terrorist groups operating in the region."

The official highlighted the significant material and human losses imposed on regional people as a result of a number of PGCC members' "destructive policies". He encouraged the council to reconsider its responses to regional issues and instead take a "constructive" approach.

The PGCC countries underlined their support for what they described the UAE's attempts to achieve a "peaceful settlement" to the problem of the three Iranian Persian Gulf islands of Abu Musa, the Lesser Tunb, and the Greater Tunb, over which the UAE claims spurious sovereignty.

Numerous historical, legal, and geographical records both inside and outside Iran attest to the fact that the strategically located islands have always been a part of Iran.

Iran's steadfast stance on the islands was reaffirmed by Kanaani, who described them as "an integral and permanent" portion of the Islamic Republic's territory.

The foreign ministry official stated that Iran "strongly rejects" any claims on the islands, calling them "destabilizing," "an instance of involvement in its domestic affairs," and "a breach of its territorial sovereignty."

Iran was charged in the PGCC statement of endangering "the safety of international waterways and energy facilities."

In response to the allegation, Kanaani stated that the Islamic Republic's Armed Forces are adamant about maintaining the maritime security and that such claims cannot diminish their determination to safeguard the security of both their homeland and the region.

Kanaani added that after China's president attended the PGCC conference that resulted in the release of the anti-Iran statement, Chang Hua, the Chinese ambassador to Tehran, had been invited to the foreign ministry.

He said that at the conference, the Islamic Republic expressed its "deep displeasure" with the interventionist tone used in the final statement toward Iran's territorial integrity and its repeated claim to sovereignty of the three Persian Gulf Islands.

“The three islands have never been and will never be susceptible to negotiation with any country, like any other portion of the Iranian territory,” the official added.

The Chinese ambassador, for his part, reiterated Beijing's regard for Iran's territorial integrity, stating that Xi's trip to Riyadh during the summit was part of Beijing's efforts to assist solidify regional peace and stability and to encourage discussion as a means of addressing regional issues.

The envoy went on to say that Beijing's attitude to the Persian Gulf region is based on "equilibrium," stressing that the Chinese deputy prime minister's impending trip to Iran will demonstrate this stance.