MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 28th May, 2020) Iran's Atomic Energy Organization (AEOI) said on Thursday that Tehran viewed US sanctions against two Iranian nuclear scientists as an act of hostility.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced on Wednesday that the United States would impose sanctions on two Iranian scientists, Majid Agha'i and Amjad Sazgar, who the secretary said had led Iran's nuclear enrichment program.
"The White House decision-makers' useless and foolish efforts, namely the inclusion of two scientists working in the nuclear industry to the US sanctions list, demonstrate the [US] government's hostile approach," the AEOI said in a statement.
It added that such actions, violating international norms and law, would not undermine Tehran's determination and will to achieve the goals set by the country.
Pompeo also threatened Iranian scientists on Twitter, giving them the opportunity to "make a choice: pursue peaceful work outside of the proliferation realm, or risk being sanctioned."
According to the US secretary of state, Agha'i and Sazgar were sanctioned for participating in activities that contributed to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
Iran has repeatedly stated that its nuclear program was peaceful and the country never intended to develop nuclear weapons.
