Trump announces new sanctions on Iran’s national bank

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Friday announced a new round of sanctions against Iran’s national bank, escalating economic pressure on the country as the president’s national security advisers review a list of targets for a potential strike in retaliation for recent attacks on Saudi Arabian oil fields.

“It’s going to hell,” Trump said of Iran’s economy, speaking in the Oval Office where he was hosting the Australian prime minister. “They’re practically broke. They are broke.”

The sanctions come as Trump’s fourth national security adviser, Robert O’Brien, settles into his new role and the administration considers options for Iran, including tightening the stranglehold on Iran’s economy, sending more U.S. forces to the region and launching military strikes targeting weapons caches and possibly oil facilities. The president was briefed Friday about the range of options.

“Going into Iran would be a very easy decision,” Trump said later Friday during a joint news conference with the Australian prime minister, Scott Morrison. Trump cautioned that he was not facing an imminent decision. “Plenty of time,” he said.

The Iranian foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, said Thursday that a military strike against Iran by the United States or Saudi Arabia would result in “an all-out war.”

The latest sanctions affect the Central Bank of Iran and the National Development Fund of Iran, “the last remaining source of funds,” said Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who joined Trump in the Oval Office.