The Iranian Foreign Ministry has added The Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), a Washington D.C. based think tank to its list of sanctioned entities.

The Foreign Ministry also sanctioned FDD's Chief Executive Mark Dubowitz in a statement released on Saturday August 24.

The long, strongly-worded statement charged that the FDD and "particularly its CEO Mark Dubowitz – have been and are effectively involved, in a conscious and intentional manner, in designing, imposing and intensifying the impacts of economic terrorism against Iran." Economic terrorism is Iran's jargon for U.S. sanctions.

Meanwhile, the FDD, issued a statement on the same day, and said "FDD conducts independent research and analysis on national security issues. The Islamic Republic prohibits such freedoms at home, and would like to do so abroad as well."

The statement added the Islamic Republic "continues to brutally repress the peoples of Iran, stealing their wealth and creating destruction and chaos in the Middle East," and responded to Iran's measure saying “FDD considers its inclusion on any list put out by the regime as a badge of honor and looks forward to the day when Americans and others can visit a free and democratic Iran.”

The Iranian Foreign Ministry says its action is based on a the "Law on Countering the Violation of Human Rights and Adventurous and Terrorist Activities of the United States in the Region" passed on August 13, 2017.

Although Iranian officials have said repeatedly since then that they will sanction U.S. entities, they do not seem to have done so before August 24, possibly because they are aware that Tehran is not in a position to sanction foreign entities as it has very little international political or economic influence.