2nd LD Writethru: U.S. Treasury Department sanctions 5 Iranian entities

WASHINGTON, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Treasury Department on Thursday announced sanctions against five Iranian entities.

The Treasury Department said the five Iran-based entities are subordinate to a key element of Iran's ballistic missile program, and the U.S. action targeted Iran's "destabilizing weapons systems."

As a result, U.S. citizens are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions with them. Foreign financial institutions that knowingly facilitate significant transactions for, or persons that provide material or certain other support to, the designated entities risk exposure to sanctions that could sever their access to the U.S. financial system or block their property and property interests under U.S. jurisdiction.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said his nation will continue to counter Iran with "additional sanctions."

Over the past week, riots broke out in some Iranian cities in protest against price hikes and economic woes. U.S. President Donald Trump and a number of other U.S. officials, including Vice President Mike Pence, have sided with the protesters.

Iran's Ambassador to the United Nations Gholamali Khoshroo on Wednesday slammed the U.S. government's recent attempts to intervene in the domestic affairs of the Islamic Republic.

"The current U.S. administration has crossed every limit in flouting rules and principles of international law governing the civilized conduct of international relations," Khoshroo said in a letter to the UN Security Council and to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.

Khoshroo added that Iran expects all states to condemn such dangerous statements and policies and urge the U.S. government to act responsibly and adhere to principles of the UN Charter and international law. Enditem