Abasali Kadkhodai, a spokesman for the Elections Supervisory Committee of the Guardian Council of Iran, has said that he was 'honoured' to be sanctioned by the United States.
"It made us happy to be sanctioned by the enemy of our nation ... I am honoured to be sanctioned by America", Kadkhodai said as quoted by Iran's state news agency IRIB.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry condemned the 'insane' US sanctions policy, saying that it is indicative that the US 'maximum pressure' policy is failing.
Iranians are casting their votes to elect lawmakers for their unicameral parliament. Over 7,000 candidates approved by the Guardian Council are competing for 290 seats in the assembly.
On Thursday, Washington imposed sanctions on five Iranian individuals for “denying their countrymen free elections” by vetting scores of candidates in the vote.
Washington has slapped Tehran with a series of sanctions targeting Iranian individuals, companies, the state, and the country's banking and energy sectors.
Iran has repeatedly condemned the US restrictions, noting that the Iranian economy has found ways to thrive despite sanctions pressure.
