In this file photo released on April 17, 2020, by the Syrian official news agency SANA, Syrian government soldiers and traffic policeman stand in an empty street, during a lockdown aimed at curbing the spread of the coronavirus, in Aleppo, Syria. (SANA VIA AP)

DUBAI / DAMASCUS - The Syrian Foreign Ministry on Wednesday said the new set of sanctions by the US against the Syrian government reveals the thuggish behavior of Washington, according to the state news agency SANA.

The US administration "surpasses the ugliest forms of lies and hypocrisy in its policies that support terrorism and bloodshed in Syria," the Syrian Foreign Ministry said

The latest sanctions, provisioned by the Caesar Act, show the violation by the US administration of all international laws and norms and the "low level to which the US officials have reached," the ministry said.

Speaking about human rights in Syria, the US administration "surpasses the ugliest forms of lies and hypocrisy in its policies that support terrorism and bloodshed in Syria," it said.

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The ministry stressed that the Syrian people and army will not allow "the practitioners of black crimes in the White House to revive their failing scheme in Syria."

On Wednesday, the United States announced massive sanctions against Syria, in an effort to further deprive the revenue of the Syrian government.

The latest sanctions include 39 individuals and entities including Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his wife, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced in a statement.

Pompeo alleged designated people and companies "played a key role in obstructing a peaceful political solution to the conflict."

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"Anyone doing business with the Assad regime, no matter where in the world they are, is potentially exposed to travel restrictions and financial sanctions," the statement reads.

The statement noted that Wednesday's action was the beginning of a sustained campaign of economic and political pressure against Syria.

Earlier this month, the Syrian Foreign Ministry said that the United States is practicing "economic terrorism" against Syria, claiming the sanctions under the Caesar Act are based on lies and fabricated claims.

UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen on Tuesday said sanctions by the United States and the European Union helped push Syria's economy to the brink.

Syria has already been under US and European Union sanctions that have frozen the assets of the state and hundreds of companies and individuals. Washington already bans export and investment in Syria by Americans, as well as transactions involving oil and hydrocarbon products. 

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But the new sanctions can freeze the assets of anyone dealing with Syria, regardless of nationality, and cover many more sectors. It also targets those dealing with entities from Russia and Iran, Assad’s main backers.

Iran on Thursday condemned as inhumane a fresh round of US sanctions against Syria and said it would expand its trade ties with Damascus. 

“As the world is involved with the corona pandemic, the imposition of such inhumane sanctions will only exacerbate the suffering of the Syrian people,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi told state media.

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“We will continue our economic cooperation with the resilient Syrian nation and Syria’s government, and despite these sanctions, we will strengthen our economic relations with Syria,” Mousavi said.

Iran, which itself faces heavy US sanctions, is a close ally of Assad. Tehran has sent thousands of fighters to back the Syrian central government, including Iranian-trained Shi’ite militias whose members are from Afghanistan and other countries.