A new round of U.S. sanctions “is a great honour,” said an Iranian official on Friday, a day after the new penalties were imposed on members of the country’s Guardian Council.
Council spokesperson, Abbas-Ali Kadkhodaei, said, “We are happy about the sanctions and, for us, it is a great honour, because it shows how enraged the Americans are with us.”
He said it shows that Iran’s policy on the United States is having an effect and not making Washington happy.
The U.S. issued the new sanctions targeting five members of the council and its elections oversight committee on Thursday, in anticipation of the country’s Friday elections.
The sanctions put a freeze on any assets held by the individuals in the U.S., even though none of those affected has any American interests.
One of the council’s duties is to review candidates before they are allowed to compete in Iranian elections.
The council disqualified thousands of reformist and moderate candidates in the run-up to this year’s polls.
Observers say this cleared the way for hardliners to score large victories in the balloting after a series of elections in which they performed poorly.
