TEHRAN - Iran has condemned the United States’ decision to impose financial and travel sanctions on eight Iranian officials, calling it blatant interference in the Islamic Republic’s internal affairs.

The U.S. administration issued an order on Wednesday imposing travel and financial restrictions on eight senior Iranian officials, accusing them of human rights abuses during the post-election unrest in Iran in 2009. The order will also freeze any assets held by the individuals in the United States.
The measure proves the U.S. is supporting “sedition” in Iran, in clear violation of international law, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said in a statement issued on Thursday.
Through this measure, Washington is seeking to divert attention from the remarks President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad made about the 9/11 attacks at the UN General Assembly session in New York on September 23, Mehmanparast added.
He went on to say that Iran will pursue the issue in the international arena through legal channels.
On Thursday, Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki also commented on the sanctions imposed on the eight Iranian officials, saying the move shows that the United States has reached an impasse in its efforts to play the post-election “sedition game”.
--Swiss ambassador summoned
The Swiss ambassador to Tehran, Livia Leu Agosti, was also summoned to the Foreign Ministry on Thursday to hear Iran’s official objection to the decision to impose sanctions on the eight Iranian officials.
Iran has no diplomatic relations with the United States, and the U.S. Interests Section in Tehran is based at the Swiss Embassy.
The United States imposed financial and travel restrictions on Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Commander Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari, IRGC Brigadier General Hossein Taeb, Intelligence Minister Heydar Moslehi, Interior Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar, Welfare and Social Security Minister Sadeq Mahsouli, Deputy National Police Chief Ahmad Reza Radan, former Tehran prosecutor general Saeed Mortazavi, and National Prosecutor General Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei, who is also the spokesman of the Judiciary.