President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday that issues financial sanctions against Iran’s supreme leader and his associates in his latest attempts to deter Tehran from their development of nuclear weapons and support of militant groups.
Sanctions from the U.S. were threatened by President Trump last week due to Iran’s attack and destruction of a $100 million U.S. surveillance drone over the Strait of Hormuz. Although the president has so far restrained from a massive retaliatory military strike on Iran that he threatened last week hoping for negotiations, Trump is still working to put pressure on Iran to end the nuclear weapons development.
The goal of President Trump’s new sanctions that include supreme leaders and senior military figures in Iran is to block their access to financial assets they may have that are under U.S. jurisdiction.
“These measures represent a strong and proportionate response to Iran’s increasingly provocative actions,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “We will continue to increase pressure on Tehran until the regime abandons its dangerous activities and its aspirations, including the pursuit of nuclear weapons, increased enrichment of uranium, development of ballistic missiles, engagement and support for terrorism, fueling of foreign conflicts and belligerent acts directed against the United States and its allies.”
Specifically, the new sanctions will help to deny Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and his aides’ access to money and support needed to succeed with threats against the U.S.
Tension has been escalating with Iran since last year when President Trump withdrew the U.S. from a global nuclear deal proposed with Iran and instead chose to re-impose economic sanctions on the country. Due to the current and ongoing hostile situation between the U.S. and Iran, it comes as no surprise that Iran’s naval commander has warned of the threat of more attacks by Iranian forces to shoot down any U.S. surveillance drones that violate Iranian airspace.
“We confidently say that the crushing response can always be repeated, and the enemy knows it,” Rear Adm. Hossein Khanzadi was quoted as saying by the Tasnim news agency.
The U.S., however, states that the drone was flying over international waters and not over Iranian airspace as indicated by Iran, and should not have been attacked at all. President Trump takes this action by Iran as a sign of imminent threat to our country. The U.S. has also accused Iran of recently attacking two oil tankers near the Strait of Hormuz and blamed the campaign of “escalating tensions” in a region crucial to global energy supplies.
President Trump has made it clear that he will not tolerate the actions or threats of Iran and is prepared to make a necessary retaliation against the country should an agreement not be reached or if another threat is issued against the U.S.
