The United States slapped new economic sanctions against Iran on Tuesday over its ballistic missile program and said Tehran's "malign activities" in the Middle East undercut any "positive contributions" coming from the 2015 Iran nuclear accord, Reuters reported.
This move indicates President Donald Trump’s intention to put more pressure on Iran to curb its nuclear program.
According to Reuters, the U.S government said it was targeting 18 entities and people for supporting what is said was "illicit Iranian actors or transnational criminal activity."
Those sanctioned had backed Iran's military or Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps by developing drones and military equipment, producing and maintaining boats, and procuring electronic components, the U.S government said.
According to Reuters, others had "orchestrated the theft of U.S and Western software programs" sold to Iran's government, the U.S Treasury Department said.
"The United States remains deeply concerned about Iran's malign activities across the Middle East which undermine regional stability, security, and prosperity," the U.S State Department said in a statement published on its website.
The State Department said: “Iran continues to support terrorist groups such as Hizballah, Hamas, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad that threaten Israel and the stability in the Middle East.”
According to the statement, Iran has maintained its steadfast support for the Assad regime in Syria, despite Assad’s atrocities against his own people.
“Iran also continues to provide the Houthi rebels in Yemen with advanced weaponry that threatens freedom of navigation in the Red Sea, has been used to attack Saudi Arabia, and is prolonging the Yemen conflict.”
The statement went on to say: “Additionally, Iran continues to test and develop ballistic missiles, in direct defiance of UN Security Council Resolution 2231.
The State Department said: “The administration is continuing to conduct a full review of U.S policy toward Iran. During the course of this review, the United States will continue to aggressively counter Iran’s malign activities in the region.”
In conclusion it stated: “The United States will continue to use sanctions to target those who lend support to Iran’s destabilizing behavior and above all, the United States will never allow the regime in Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon.”