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US Imposes Fresh Sanctions on Iran in Final Days of Trump Presidency

A general view of the Bushehr nuclear power plant, 1,200 km (746 miles) south of Tehran, August 21, 2010. (Reuters)
A general view of the Bushehr nuclear power plant, 1,200 km (746 miles) south of Tehran, August 21, 2010. (Reuters)
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US Imposes Fresh Sanctions on Iran in Final Days of Trump Presidency

A general view of the Bushehr nuclear power plant, 1,200 km (746 miles) south of Tehran, August 21, 2010. (Reuters)
A general view of the Bushehr nuclear power plant, 1,200 km (746 miles) south of Tehran, August 21, 2010. (Reuters)

The United States on Friday sanctioned companies in Iran, China and the United Arab Emirates for doing business with the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines and on three Iranian entities over conventional arms proliferation.

They are the latest in a series of measures aimed at stepping up pressure on Tehran in the waning days of President Donald Trump's administration, which ends on Jan. 20.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Washington had sanctioned seven companies, including Chinese-based Jiangyin Mascot Special Steel Co. and UAE-based Accenture Building Materials, and two people for shipping steel to or from Iran.

He said Iran's Marine Industries Organization, Aerospace Industries Organization and the Iran Aviation Industries Organization had also been blacklisted over conventional arms proliferation.

Iran has been a focus of Trump during his four years in office as he tried to force Tehran back into talks over its nuclear and ballistic missile programs and its activities in the Middle East. In 2018 Trump quit an Iran nuclear deal that Tehran struck with world powers in 2015 to rein in its nuclear program in return for sanctions relief because it did not go far enough.

Trump said he was open to negotiating a much wider pact that would seek more extensive constraints on Iran's nuclear program, as well as limits on its development of ballistic missiles and its sponsorship of militias in regional nations such as Iraq, Lebanon and Syria.

Democratic President-elect Joe Biden, who will succeed Trump on Wednesday, has said he will return to the 2015 nuclear pact if Iran resumes strict compliance with it.

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As Iran Tensions Build, US Military Moves Warplanes to Reinforce Middle East 

A B-2 Spirit Bomber from the US Air Force is seen during the annual Red Flag military exercise between the United States, Britain and Australia, in Nevada, US, January 23, 2024. (Reuters)
A B-2 Spirit Bomber from the US Air Force is seen during the annual Red Flag military exercise between the United States, Britain and Australia, in Nevada, US, January 23, 2024. (Reuters)
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As Iran Tensions Build, US Military Moves Warplanes to Reinforce Middle East 

A B-2 Spirit Bomber from the US Air Force is seen during the annual Red Flag military exercise between the United States, Britain and Australia, in Nevada, US, January 23, 2024. (Reuters)
A B-2 Spirit Bomber from the US Air Force is seen during the annual Red Flag military exercise between the United States, Britain and Australia, in Nevada, US, January 23, 2024. (Reuters)

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has reinforced US military capability in the Middle East with more warplanes, the Pentagon said on Tuesday, amid a more than two-week-old US bombing campaign in Yemen and mounting tensions with Iran.

The Pentagon's brief statement did not specify which aircraft were being deployed or where precisely they were sent.

However, as many as six B-2 bombers have relocated in the past week or so to a US-British military base on the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia, according to US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The B-2s have stealth technology and are equipped to carry the heaviest US bombs and nuclear weapons.

"Should Iran or its proxies threaten American personnel and interests in the region, the United States will take decisive action to defend our people," Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said in a statement.

The US military's Strategic Command has declined to say how many B-2s have reached Diego Garcia and noted that it does not comment on exercises or operations involving the B-2.

There is already considerable firepower in the Middle East and the US military will soon have two aircraft carriers in the region.

US President Donald Trump threatened Iran on Sunday with bombing and secondary tariffs if Tehran did not come to an agreement with Washington over its nuclear program.

While B-2 bombers have been employed to strike buried Houthi targets in Yemen, most experts say use of the stealthy bomber is overkill there and the targets aren't buried so deeply.

However, the B-2 is equipped to carry America's most potent bomb -- the 30,000-pound GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator. That is the weapon that experts say could be used to strike Iran's nuclear program.

There are only 20 B-2 bombers in the Air Force's inventory so they are usually used sparingly.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said on Monday the US would receive a strong blow if Trump followed through with his threats.

Revolutionary Guards Aerospace Commander Amirali Hajizadeh threatened US forces in the Middle East, noting American bases in the Middle East and adding: "They are in a glass house and should not throw stones."

One official told Reuters that the US military was also moving some air defense capabilities from Asia to the Middle East.

In his 2017-2021 term, Trump withdrew the US from a 2015 deal between Iran and world powers that placed strict limits on Tehran's disputed nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief. Trump also reimposed sweeping US sanctions.

Since then, Iran has far surpassed that deal's limits on uranium enrichment.

Western powers accuse Iran of having a clandestine agenda to develop nuclear weapons capability by enriching uranium to a high level of fissile purity, above what they say is justifiable for a civilian atomic energy program. Tehran says its nuclear program is wholly for civilian energy purposes.