Washington has slapped sanctions on five Iranian companies alleged to have been working on an illegal ballistic missile program.
"These sanctions target key entities involved in Iran's ballistic missile program, which the Iranian regime prioritizes over the economic well-being of the Iranian people," US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said.
The department said the sanctioned entities - the Shahid Eslami Research Center, Shahid Kharrazi Industries, Shahid Moghaddam Industries, Shahid Sanikhani Industries and Shahid Shustari Industries - were subordinated to the Shahid Bakeri Industrial Group.
The sanctions freeze any property the entities hold in the United States and prohibit Americans from dealing with them.
The Treasury’s move came as US senators and Trump administration officials met at the White House on Thursday, hoping to hammer out compromise legislation to tighten restrictions on Iran.
Senators Bob Corker, the Republican chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Ben Cardin, the panel's top Democrat, had an evening meeting with President Donald Trump's national security adviser, H.R. McMaster, to discuss possible legislation, Senate and White House aides said.
Meanwhile, the United Nations Security Council is scheduled to meet Friday at 3 p.m. (2000 GMT) to discuss Iran, days after US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley called for an emergency session to discuss the anti-government protests taking place in several Iranian cities over economic hardships and corruption.
