ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - The Iranian foreign ministry on Sunday condemned the recent American sanctions targeting Iran’s energy trade, labeling them “illegal and unjustified.”

US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on Friday announced that Washington has expanded its sanctions on Tehran by taking measures against the country’s “Ghost Fleet,” which carries Iranian oil to buyers around the world. The designation was in response to Iran’s ballistic missile attack on Israel earlier this month.

Esmaeil Baghaei, Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson, said that the new sanctions “lack any legal or logical basis,” and referred to the measures as an “extortion” in favor of Israel. He reiterated that Iran’s attack was an exercise of its right to defend itself.

“The US regime's addiction to threats and maximum pressure against the Iranian people will not affect the Islamic Republic's resolve to defend its sovereignty, territorial integrity, national interests, and citizens against any acts of aggression or external violations,” the spokesperson noted.

Baghaei accused Washinhgton of playing a “destructive” role in West Asia, and said that the US was complicit in “severe international crimes” as Israel’s primary political supporter and weapon supplier.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) launched around 200 ballistic missiles toward Tel Aviv and several other regions of Israel on October 1. Tehran claimed that ninety percent of the missiles hit their targets, while Israel and the US said that most of the projectiles were intercepted.

Israeli and American top officials warned Iran to expect “severe consequences” following the attack.

“These measures will help further deny Iran financial resources used to support its missile programs and provide support for terrorist groups that threaten the United States, its allies, and partners,” said Sullivan on Friday.