UNITED NATIONS, July 16. /TASS/. Iranian acting Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani has called for holding the United States and its Western allies responsible for the damage done by their sanctions to his country.

"The United States and its Western allies, who have been toughening their sanctions, should be held accountable for the unthinkable suffering, deaths and devastation before those who were the target of these sanctions, including my country," he said at a meeting of the United Nations Security Council.

He slammed sanctions as "a manifestation of unilateral cruelty and inhumanity." He stressed that neither of the UN Security Council members who supported the anti-Iranian sanctions in a period from 2006 to 2010 would be able to shed responsibility "for infringing the rights of the Iranian people."

Relations between Iran and the United States became strained after the Islamic revolution in Iran in 1979. The escalation in their relations culminated on November 4, 1979, when American diplomats were taken hostage in Tehran. They were released only in January 1981. This led to the severance of diplomatic relations, which have not been resumed until now. The United States imposed economic sanctions on Iran, including an embargo on imports of Iranian oil. The sanctions were expanded numerous times, with the latest such expansion taking place on July 12, when, according to the US Department of States, restrictions were imposed on the Iranian-based Hakiman Shargh research company for its alleged involvement in the development of chemical weapons.