President Donald Trump announced a new executive order on Monday adding even more sanctions against Iran — the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism — in response to Iran shooting down a U.S. military drone in international airspace last week.
“Sanctions imposed through the executive order … will deny the supreme leader and the supreme leader’s office and those closely affiliated with him and the office access to key financial resources and support,” Trump said at a signing for the executive order. “The assets of Ayatollah Khamenei and his office will not be spared from the sanctions.”
“These measures represent a strong and proportionate response to Iran’s increasingly provocative actions,” Trump continued. “We will continue to increase pressure on Tehran until the regime abandons its dangerous and aspirations including the pursuit of nuclear weapons, increased enrichment of uranium, development of ballistic missiles, engagement in and support for terrorism, fueling of foreign conflicts, and belligerent acts directed against the United States and its allies.”
The Treasury Department released details of the new sanctions in a statement shortly after Trump signed the executive order.
“Today’s designations reinforce the President’s action in issuing an Executive Order imposing sanctions on the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran as well as the Supreme Leader’s Office,” the statement said. “The President’s order will deny Iran’s leadership access to financial resources and authorizes the targeting of persons appointed to certain official or other positions by the Supreme Leader or the Supreme Leader’s Office. Moreover, any foreign financial institution that knowingly facilitates a significant financial transaction for entities designated under this Executive Order could be cut off from the U.S. financial system.”
“As a result of today’s action, all property and interests in property of these individuals that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons must be blocked and reported to [the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control] OFAC,” The statement continued. “OFAC’s regulations generally prohibit all dealings by U.S. persons or within (or transiting) the United States that involve any property or interests in property of blocked or designated persons.”
The latest round of sanctions against Iran comes after Iran shot down a U.S. military drone last week that was in international airspace which follows multiple attacks on oil tankers in the Gulf region that Iran has been blamed for.
Iran has continued to escalate its rhetoric in recent days with former Iranian Minister of Defense General Hossein Dehghan, currently an advisor for defense affairs to Iranian Supreme Leader Khamenei, warning about what would happen in the U.S. went to war with Iran.
“Israel knows that Iran will erase its entity and uproot it from existence in case of a war. In my personal opinion, this war will not take place – not because America does not want war, but because Iran is strong enough to engage in confrontation,” Dehghan said. “Iran would achieve a great victory, and America would find itself in the garbage bin of history. There would no longer be an Israel on the land of Palestine. We would totally erase it from the face of the earth.”
