The United States has slapped financial sanctions on Russia's state arms exporter for its dealings with Iran, a move was described by Russia as something "without international legal foundation," the Washington Post reported Saturday.

Under the U.S. law, any assets of the entities or individuals being sanctioned will be frozen, and no Americans are allowed to do business with them.

The U.S. sanctions were designed to thwart the sales of sensitive technology that could help Iran, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and Syria develop weapons of mass destruction or missile systems, the Washington Post said.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Friday denounced the U.S. sanctions on Russia's Rosodboronexport, and its subsidiaries, as illegal and unjust.

"These new sanctions were introduced without any international legal foundation whatsoever," Lavrov was quoted as reporting in Moscow.

Russia will not change its policies on Iran because of the sanctions, the Russian foreign minister stressed.

(Xinhua News Agency October 26, 2008)