President Trump turned up the heat on Iran Friday, imposing more sanctions and accusing the Islamic state of “playing with fire.” “Iran is playing with fire – they don’t appreciate how ‘kind’ President Obama was to them. Not me!” the president tweeted, taking a shot at the Iranian nuke deal cut by the Obama Administration.
Trump later imposed sanctions on 13 people and a dozen companies in response to Iran’s recent ballistic missile test, which the US charged was a violation of a UN resolution. The moves ratcheted up the pressure on Tehran without directly undercutting the nuclear agreement — though Trump has often slammed the pact and its fate remained unclear.
Those targeted by the Treasury Department’s action include various agents, companies and associates who provided the country with ballistic missile technology. Iranians, Lebanese, Chinese and Emirati individuals and companies also are now blacklisted from doing any business in the US or with American citizens.
“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,” John E. Smith, the Treasury Department’s acting sanctions chief, said in a statement.
“We will continue to actively apply all available tools, including financial sanctions, to address this behavior.”
The sanctions are the first against Iran in Trump’s presidency, and reflects his vow to take a tougher stance toward the country, which the US believes is a major sponsor of regional and international terrorism.
During the presidential campaign, Trump railed against Obama for supposedly being weak on Iran, and he promised a crackdown if elected. None of the new sanctions appear to reverse the Obama administration’s suspension of sanctions as part of the 2015 nuclear deal.
Nevertheless, the action will almost surely increase tensions with Iran. The Islamic republic has insisted that new sanctions violate the deal and that it has the right to conduct ballistic missile tests now that its nuclear program has been sharply curtailed.
The US and Western countries argue otherwise, noting that Tehran agreed to an eight-year extension of a ban on ballistic work in nuclear negotiations two years ago. That agreement was concluded in parallel, but separate from the nuclear accord.
“This is fully consistent with the Obama administration’s commitment to Congress that the nuclear deal does not preclude the use of non-nuclear sanctions,” said Mark Dubowitz, CEO of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, which advocates for a hard-line position on Iran.
The sanctions come after Trump and his aides issued cryptic warnings about potential retaliation against Tehran for testing a ballistic missile and for supporting Shiite rebels in Yemen known as the Houthis.
The US accuses Iran of arming and financing the rebels, who this week claimed a successful missile strike against a warship belonging to a Saudi-led coalition fighting to reinstall Yemen’s internationally recognized government. Iran denies arming the Houthis.
Earlier this week, national security adviser Michael Flynn made a rare appearance at the White House press briefing to warn publicly Iran that it had been placed “on notice.” With AP & nypost.com
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