US slaps new sanctions on Iranian groups, individuals despite nuclear deal compliance

WASHINGTON - The US has imposed new sanctions on companies and individuals that it says provide material support to Iran’s military, as well as on organisations involved in the country’s ballistic missile program. The restrictions are not related to Iran’s nuclear program.

The US Department of the Treasury “designated 16 entities and individuals for engaging in support of illicit Iranian actors or transnational criminal activity,” the department announced on Tuesday.

The announcement comes the day after the Trump administration certified that Tehran is in compliance with the terms of the landmark 2015 nuclear agreement designed to ensure Iran doesn’t make nuclear weapons.

The new sanctions “target procurement of advanced military hardware, such as fast attack boats and unmanned aerial vehicles, and send a strong signal that the United States cannot and will not tolerate Iran’s provocative and destabilising behaviour,” said US Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin in a statement.

“We will continue to target the [Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps] and pressure Iran to cease its ballistic missile program and malign activities in the region,” he added.