US announces new Iran sanctions over missiles, terror support
Washington, US - The United States announced new sanctions against Iran on Tuesday over its ballistic missile programme and what it called Tehran’s support for terrorist groups in the Middle East.
The sanctions announced by the State Department target 18 individuals or entities described as supporting Iran’s ballistic missile programme or the elite Republican Guard.
The announcement came a day after the US certified that Iran was complying with the landmark nuclear deal signed two years ago with it and other world powers, but also warned it was preparing new sanctions.
“The US remains deeply concerned about Iran’s malign activities across the Middle East which undermine regional stability, security, and prosperity,” State Department said.
It cited Iran’s support for Hezbollah, Hamas, the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad and Houthi rebels in Yemen fighting a US-backed coalition led by Saudi Arabia.
Earlier on Tuesday, Iran’s parliament voted to urgently work towards increasing funds for the country’s missile programme and Revolutionary Guards in response to Washington’s ‘adventurism’ in the region, media reported.
The proposed bill, published by the ISNA news agency, mandates the government to allocate an additional US$260mn to the joint armed forces for the ‘development of the missile programme’ and the same amount to the Revolutionary Guards’ foreign operations wing, the Quds Force.
The motion sends a clear message to the Americans that Iran’s parliament ‘will resist them with all its power’, speaker Ali Larijani said.