The U.S. Treasury Department on Friday announced sanctions against Iran's Ministry of Intelligence and its minister, accusing them of being tied to a disruptive July cyberattack on Albania and engaging in other cyber activities against the United States and its allies.

The move comes after Albania severed diplomatic relations with Iran on Wednesday for the incident, ordering Iranian diplomats and embassy staff to leave within 24 hours.

The U.S. Treasury Department said in a statement that Iran's Ministry of Intelligence directs several networks of cyber threat actors, including those involved in cyber espionage and ransomware attacks in support of the Iranian government.

Iran rejected the sanctions as ineffective and politically motivated.

"Like previous illegal U.S. sanctions against the Ministry of Intelligence, this new label will never be able to create the slightest hinder in the determination of the Iranian people's security servicemen in this proud institution," Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said.

"The announcement of immediate U.S. support for the Albanian government's false accusation against Iran... clearly shows that it is the U.S. government that has designed this scenario against Iran," Iranian state media quoted Kanaani as saying.