Trump keeps Iran deal, but slaps more sanctions
washington — The Trump administration slapped 18 Iranian individuals and groups with sanctions on Tuesday for aiding the country’s non-nuclear weapons programmes, in a bid to show that President Donald Trump is staying tough on Iran despite his moves to let the nuclear deal stay in place for now.
The latest attempt to clamp down on Iran’s military financing ranged from an Iranianbased company that aided the country’s drone programme to a Turkey-based provider of naval equipment and a China-based network that helped secure electronics for Tehran. The sanctions freeze any assets in the US and prevent Americans from doing business with them.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the sanctions “send a strong signal that the United States cannot and will not tolerate Iran’s provocative and destabilising behaviour”.
“This administration will continue to aggressively target Iran’s malign activity, including their ongoing state support of terrorism, ballistic missile programme, and human rights abuses,” Mnuchin said.
The announcement came only hours after the Trump administration told Congress for a second time that Iran is complying with the nuclear deal and can keep enjoying sanctions relief. The administration insisted Tehran was breaching “the spirit” of the deal. —
The sanctions send a strong signal that the United States cannot and will not tolerate Iran’s provocative and destabilising behaviour Steven Mnuchin, US Treasury Secretary
washington — Donald Trump has backed away from a campaign promise to scrap a major nuclear security deal with Iran, with officials announcing the agreement and related sanctions relief will stay in place for now.
The Trump administration faced a new congressional deadline on Monday to say whether Iran has curbed its nuclear weapons program in line with the accord.
Under the terms of the two-yearold agreement, Tehran scaled back production of nuke-making material in return for massive sanctions relief.
“The conditions,” according to one official who the White House would not name publicly, “have been met, based on information available to the United States.”
The 2015 agreement rests on a series of technical benchmarks, and was seen in Washington as a way of avoiding military action to prevent Iran from getting a nuke.
But it has not relieved tensions between Tehran and Washington, which continue to clash particularly over conflicts in the Middle East like Syria and Yemen, where Iran-backed militias hold clout.
On a trip to Saudi Arabia in May, Trump called on all nations to “isolate” Iran. During his election campaign
Iran remains one of the most dangerous threats to us interests and regional stability A US official
Trump denounced the deal — reached under former president Barack Obama — and promised to renegotiate it and get tough on Iran.
Trump has now twice affirmed Iran’s compliance since taking office, effectively keeping the deal in place.
But the White House took pains to stress it was not going soft on Iran, pointing to new non-nuclear sanctions and stricter implementation of the deal.
An official added: “We do expect that we will be implementing new sanctions that pertain to Iran’s ballistic missile programme and fast boat programme.”
“Iran remains one of the most dangerous threats to US interests and regional stability,” the official said.
Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, in New York on Monday to attend a UN forum on development, said he has yet to discuss the nuclear deal with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. —