Trump sanctions Iranian companies, individuals tied to missiles

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration said Friday it is putting new economic sanctions on Iranian individuals and companies, citing the Tehran government's recent missile tests and support for rebels in Yemen.

“Iran’s continued support for terrorism and development of its ballistic missile program poses a threat to the region, to our partners worldwide, and to the United States," said John E. Smith, acting director of the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control.

Asked about Iran by reporters, Trump said simply: "They're not behaving."

The sanctions — which have been in the pipeline for months — said nothing about the Iranian nuclear deal, which Trump attacked during the campaign but has shown no signs of voiding.

Smith did say that "we will continue to actively apply all available tools, including financial sanctions, to address this behavior.”

The sanctions affect 13 Iranian individuals and 12 companies, freezing any property or funds they may have under U.S. jurisdiction. The Treasury Department also said that "U.S. jurisdiction are blocked, and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions" with those on the sanctions list.

Trump signaled the sanctions with an early morning tweet: "Iran is playing with fire — they don't appreciate how "kind" President Obama was to them. Not me!"

In announcing earlier this week the administration had put Iran "on notice," Trump and aides cited a recent ballistic missile test as well as supporting a rebel group in Yemen known as the Houthis.

The Treasury Department said in a statement that "this action reflects the United States’ commitment to enforcing sanctions on Iran with respect to its ballistic missile program and destabilizing activities in the region."

Iran has denied that its missile tests violate United Nations regulations and generally mocked the president over his criticism.

“This is not the first time when an inexperienced man is threatening Iran,” Ali Akbar Velayati, senior adviser to supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, told the Tasnim news agency this week. “The new administration of America will realize that threatening Iran will not work, and empty and baseless ranting should be stopped.”

The financial restrictions are outside the scope of the nuclear agreement in which the United States and allies drew down sanctions on Iran as it agreed to give up the means to make nuclear weapons. While Trump has questioned whether the agreement can be verified, the Treasury Department said these new sanctions deal with Iran's missile activity and alleged support for terrorist groups.

The agreement dealt only with nuclear-related sanctions; other restrictions involving Iranian financial transactions remain.

The sanctioned individuals and companies have been linked to Iran's missile program and/or proxies for terrorist activity, such as the Houthis, officials said. They have been identified through an ongoing review of Iranian activity that goes back to the Obama administration.

The Treasury Department is being led by Acting Secretary Adam J. Szubin, a holdover from the Obama administration who has been involved in sanction activity. Trump's nominee to lead the department, Steve Mnuchin, is awaiting Senate confirmation.

"These kinds of sanctions don't happen quickly," White House spokesman Sean Spicer said, but were triggered by an Iranian missile test and terrorist activities.

Officials declined to say whether Trump plans to kill the Iranian nuclear deal — or somehow force Iran to walk away from it — but pledged to keep their eye on the regime.

Calling Iran "the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism," national security adviser Michael Flynn said that "the international community has been too tolerant of Iran’s bad behavior .. The Trump Administration will no longer tolerate Iran’s provocations that threaten our interests."

Lawmakers generally applauded the sanctions, but questioned some of the administration's sabre-rattling toward Iran.

"I urge the Administration to bring clarity to their overall strategy towards Iran," said Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., "and to refrain from ambiguous rhetoric — or provocative tweets — that will exacerbate efforts to confront those challenges.”