WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is preparing to levy new sanctions on Iran, U.S. officials said Thursday, in the first punitive action since the White House put Iran “on notice” after it test-fired a ballistic missile.
Up to two dozen Iranian individuals, companies and possibly government agencies could be penalized as part of the move, expected as early as today, said the officials and others with knowledge of the decision.
The sanctions, coming in the first weeks of President Donald Trump’s term, reflect his administration’s desire to take a strong stance toward Iran from the start. Throughout his campaign, Trump accused the Obama administration of being insufficiently tough on Iran and vowed to crack down if elected.
The White House and the State Department declined to comment.
It was unclear exactly which entities would be sanctioned. Many sanctions on Iran that had been imposed in response to its nuclear program were lifted in the final years of the Obama administration as part of the nuclear deal the U.S. and world powers brokered. Some of those penalties could be re-imposed under separate sanctions authorities unrelated to nuclear issues.
That prospect raises the possibility of a fresh confrontation between the U.S. and Iran, which has forcefully argued that it considers any new sanctions a violation of the nuclear deal. The U.S. has maintained that it retains the right to sanction Iran for other behavior such as supporting terrorism.
“This is fully consistent with the Obama administration’s commitment to Congress that the nuclear deal does not preclude the use of non-nuclear sanctions,” said Mark Dubowitz, CEO of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, which advocates for a hardline U.S. position on Iran.
The impending sanctions come the same week that Trump and his aides issued cryptic warnings about potential retaliation against Iran for testing a ballistic missile and for supporting Shiite rebels in Yemen known as the Houthis. The U.S. accuses Iran of arming and financing the rebels, who this week claimed a successful missile strike against a warship belonging to a Saudi-led coalition fighting to reinstall Yemen’s internationally recognized government. Iran denies arming the Houthis.
“As of today, we are officially putting Iran on notice,” said Trump’s national security adviser, Michael Flynn.
U.S. lawmakers from both parties have encouraged Trump not to let the missile test go unpunished. On Thursday, the top Democrat and Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee joined more than a dozen other lawmakers to urge Trump to act.
“Iranian leaders must feel sufficient pressure to cease deeply destabilizing activities,” the lawmakers wrote.
