The United States’ new administration slapped fresh sanctions on Iran Friday, punishing Tehran for recent ballistic missile test-firings and its continued support for Yemen’s Houthi insurgents.
“Iran’s continued support for terrorism and development of its ballistic missile program poses a threat to the region, to our partners worldwide, and to the United States,” said U.S.John Smith, acting director of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.
Houthis have been leading an armed coup in Yemen seeking to topple the rule of law and overrule the constitutionally elected government.
The first sanctions against Iran by the Trump administration targeted companies and individuals in Iran and China identified by the United States as supporting Tehran’s ballistic missile program and the Revolutionary Guards military force.
The measures came after Iran on Sunday test-fired a medium range missile, which the White House contends violated a U.N. Security Council resolution proscribing missiles that could carry a nuclear device.
On Tuesday, President Donald Trump’s National Security Adviser Michael Flynn declared he was “officially putting Iran on notice” over the launch.
The newest sanctions seek to lock those blacklisted out of global trade and finance by banning any American or U.S.-based entities from doing business with them. They named three trading networks and individuals allegedly involved in supplying goods to Iran’s missile program.
Groups sanctioned include the Rostanian network based in the Gulf region, and Lebanon-based Hasan Dehghan Ebrahimi, identified as a Revolutionary Guards official whose business the Treasury said launders money and goods for Lebanon’s Hezbollah.
Asharq Al-Awsat English
Asharq Al-Awsat is the world’s premier pan-Arab daily newspaper, printed simultaneously each day on four continents in 14 cities. Launched in London in 1978, Asharq Al-Awsat has established itself as the decisive publication on pan-Arab and international affairs, offering its readers in-depth analysis and exclusive editorials, as well as the most comprehensive coverage of the entire Arab world.
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