The launch of an Iranian Emad intermediate-range ballistic missile. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

JNS.org – Iranian officials condemned fresh US sanctions against Iran’s ballistic missile program on Tuesday, calling the sanctions announcement “contemptible and worthless.”

Iran “will reciprocate the move by imposing sanctions on a number of American natural and legal persons who have taken steps against the Iranian people and other Muslim nations in the region,” the Iranian Foreign Ministry said.

The Trump administration enacted new sanctions against Iran Tuesday, in an effort to put additional pressure on Tehran while seeking to keep in place the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers.

“The United States remains deeply concerned about Iran’s malign activities across the Middle East which undermine regional stability, security, and prosperity,” the State Department said in a statement.

Iran’s activities “undercut whatever ‘positive contributions’ to regional and international peace and security were intended to emerge” from the nuclear agreement,” the State Department added.

The Trump administration on Monday said Iran remains in compliance with the nuclear deal, despite Trump calling the pact “the worst deal ever” during last year’s election campaign and promising to dismantle the accord.