US slaps new sanctions on Iran
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump on Friday announced new sanctions on Iran that he said were the toughest-ever against another country but indicated he did not plan a military strike, calling restraint a sign of strength.
The treasury department unveiled action against Iran’s central bank after US officials said that Tehran carried out weekend attacks on rival Saudi Arabia’s oil infrastructure which triggered a spike in global crude prices.
“We have just sanctioned the Iranian national bank,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “These are the highest sanctions ever imposed on a country.”
But Trump indicated he did not plan a military response, attacking both critics who thought he would trigger war and hawks seeking a military response.
“The easiest thing I could do (is) knock out 15 different major things in Iran,” Trump said. “I could do it right here in front of you. And that would be it. And then you would have a nice, big story to report,” he said.
“But I think the strong-person approach and the thing that does show strength would be showing a little bit of restraint,” he said.
“Much easier to do it the other way. It’s much easier. And Iran knows if they misbehave, they’re on borrowed time,” he said.
The US already maintains sweeping sanctions on Iran including on its central bank.
SAUDI TAKES MEDIA TO PLANT HIT BY ATTACKS
KHURAIS: Saudi Arabia on Friday took media to inspect oil facilities hit by attacks that Washington and Riyadh blame on Iran, showing melted pipes and burnt equipment, as Tehran vowed wide retaliation if heightened tensions boil over into hostilities. The kingdom sees the Sept. 14 strikes on its Khurais and Abqaiq facilities - the worst attack on Gulf oil infrastructure since Iraq’s Saddam Hussein torched Kuwaiti oilfields in 1991 - as a test of global will to preserve international order.
Iran denies involvement in the attack, which initially halved oil output from Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest petroleum exporter. Responsibility was claimed by Yemen’s Houthi movement, an Iran-aligned group fighting a Saudi-led alliance in Yemen’s four-year-old conflict.