TEHRAN, Jan. 23 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei has condemned the U.S. moves to re-add Cuba to its list of state sponsors of terrorism and re-designate Yemen's Houthi group as a foreign terrorist organization.
He made the remarks in separate statements released by the ministry on Thursday while reacting to decisions by newly inaugurated U.S. President Donald Trump to relist Cuba on Monday as a "state sponsor of terrorism" and order the State Department on Wednesday to re-designate the Houthi group as a "foreign terrorist organization," revoking decisions by his predecessor Joe Biden.
Baghaei said the U.S. accusation against Cuba and inclusion of the country in its list of "state sponsors of terrorism" were "unjustifiable, baseless and rejected."
He pointed to the U.S.'s long history of using such "unfounded and arbitrary" listings to advance its foreign policy by discrediting other countries, and described the latest anti-Cuba action as being "contrary to the principles and regulations of international law and an excuse for imposing unilateral and cruel sanctions against independent nations."
Baghaei emphasized that such unilateral actions not only violated the Cuban people's fundamental human rights but also further weakened the rule of law at the international level and promoted lawlessness.
He called on the international community to oppose such actions by the United States.
Commenting on the U.S. State Department's re-inclusion of the Houthi group in its list of "foreign terrorist organizations," Baghaei said the "unjust and baseless action, which is in contradiction with international law," served as a pretext to impose "inhumane" sanctions against the Yemeni people.
He hailed the Yemeni people's "honorable solidarity with the oppressed Palestinian people" in the face of Israel's "occupation and genocide," describing the U.S. State Department's move as being aligned with the former U.S. administration's support for and complicity in Israel's "15-month-long killing and genocide" against Palestinians in Gaza. ■
