Cuba: The embargo of the International Bank of Commerce by the United States is a collective punishment of the people. Cuba described the action of the United States in sanctioning the International Bank of Commerce in the country as a criminal act aimed at "collectively punishing the people of this country and closing all the breathing holes of its economy." The United States announced on Thursday that it had imposed sanctions on this bank because of its ties to Iran's "Entrepreneurs Bank", which has been under sanctions since 2020. The foreign minister of Cuba, Bruno Rodriguez, defined the move as "hostile" and said that the bank is a "completely legal bank" and that its transactions in Cuba and around the world are also "completely legal". Last winter, the administration of Donald Trump declared Cuba a "threat" to US national security. Since then, Washington has steadily increased its diplomatic and economic pressure through sanctions and bans on oil sales. The US also imposed sanctions on the International Bank for the Development of Iraq for Investment and Finance and several other Iranian banks, companies and individuals on Thursday.