New US targeted Iran sanctions

The US Treasury department today added 13 people and 12 companies to its sanctions list, freezing their assets under US control. The White House spokesman, said the sanctions were a “very, very strong stand against the actions Iran has taken”; Iran tested a ballistic missile a few days ago. The new listings are here. Among those sanctioned are those the US Treasury says support a trade network run by Iranian businessman Abdollah Asgharzadeh who is said to support Shahid Hemmat Industrial Group, a subsidiary of an Iranian entity said to run Iran’s ballistic missile programme, and a Lebanon-based network run by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard.

A few hours before they were announced, President Trump tweeted: “Iran is playing with fire. They don’t appreciate how ‘kind’ President Obama was to them. Not me!” Iran’s foreign ministry, in a statement on Friday, said the US sanctions were “illegal” and “illegitimate” and said Iran would consider imposing restrictions on American entities and individuals who “have created and helped terrorist groups… and killings and suppression of defenseless civilians” in the Middle East.