TEHERAN - The Iranian Foreign Ministry on Thursday condemned the US government's intensified restrictions on the staff of its permanent mission to the United Nations (UN) in New York.

In a statement, the ministry called on the UN to prevent "the violation of Iran's legal rights," while strongly denouncing a decision by the US State Department to prevent "the continuation of the activities" of three employees of the Iranian mission in New York.

"The enforcement of extensive restrictions on the Iranian diplomats' place of residence and movements, intensification of restrictions on their bank accounts and imposition of restrictions on their daily purchases are among the pressures and harassments the US government has designed and implemented to disrupt the Iranian diplomats' fulfillment of their conventional and legal responsibilities," it stressed.

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The ministry described the US decision about the Iranian mission's staff members as "the peak of the US government's law-breaking and violation of commitments," which "casts doubt on the US government's eligibility for hosting the UN Headquarters."

The Iranian ministry did not specify when the restrictions were tightened. However, back in September, the US State Department said it had restricted the movement of Iranian diplomats attending the UN General Assembly in New York and barred them from shopping at wholesale club stores and purchasing luxury goods as a part of the US "maximum pressure" campaign against the Iranian government.