The US Treasury on Friday issued a new wave of sanctions against Iran, targeting 13 people and 12 entities days after the White House put Iran "on notice" over its recent ballistic missile test and alleged involvement in an attack on a Saudi ship near Yemen.
The Treasury said the sanctions are "fully consistent with the United States' commitments" under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, also known as the Iran nuclear deal.
The sanctions will target those "acting for or on behalf of, or providing support to, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force," the Treasury said, along with an Iranian Quds Force-run network working with Hezbollah and some companies in Lebanon working on projects related to Iran's missile program.
Companies, individuals, and brokers involved in a trade network run by Abdollah Asgharzadeh, an Iranian businessman, were also sanctioned on Friday, the Treasury said. Asgharzadeh is believed to support the Shahid Hemmat Industrial Group, a subsidiary of a firm that runs Iran's ballistic missile program.
A senior administration official said on a conference call with reporters Friday that Iran's ballistic missile program and continued support for terrorism were "very provocative."
"These designations today are our response to Iran's ongoing ballistic missile program, including its ballistic missile test on January 29 as well as its continued support for terrorism," the official said.
The official said that the January 29 test was "inconsistent" with United Nations Security Council resolution 2231, implemented shortly after the nuclear deal was signed in 2015. The resolution "calls upon Iran not to undertake any launches of ballistic missiles designed to be capable of carrying a nuclear weapon." Tehran has violated the resolution at least twice since last July.
"Iran can't undertake these activities when a ballistic missile would be capable of carrying a nuclear weapon ... and this ballistic missile falls within that parameter," the official said. "It should not be of any surprise to Iran that we would take actions against companies and individuals that would aim to continue their support for terrorism and its ballistic missile program."
The official called Iran's missile launches "a clear threat to regional security."
'Iran is playing with fire'
Trump, who tweeted early on Friday that "Iran is playing with fire," is seeking to ratchet up pressure on Tehran while crafting a broader strategy to counter what he sees as its destabilizing behavior.
Iran's decision to test-fire the ballistic missile on Sunday helped trigger Trump's renewed tough talk toward Iran, which he frequently invoked on the campaign trail while slamming the JCPOA as a "disaster" and "the worst deal ever."
Trump's national security adviser, Michael Flynn, said during a press briefing on Wednesday that the administration was putting Iran "on notice" after its "recent actions involving a provocative ballistic missile launch and an attack against a Saudi naval vessel conducted by Iran-supported Houthi militants."
Flynn was referring to an attack on Monday by Iran-backed Houthi rebels off of Yemen that killed two sailors on a Saudi ship.
Iran's provocations, Flynn said, "underscore what should have been clear to the international community all along about Iran's destabilizing behavior across the entire Middle East."
Another senior administration official on the State Department call with reporters on Friday said Iran's behavior is "not sustainable."
"Iran has to determine its response to our actions," the official said. "Iran has a choice to make. We are going to continue to respond to their behavior in an ongoing way at an appropriate level, to continue to pressure them to change their behavior."
Trump on Thursday said that "nothing is off the table" when a reporter asked if he would consider using force in response to Iran's actions. Congressional Republicans said they would back him up with new sanctions, and a bipartisan group of senators sent a letter to Trump on Thursday saying Iran "must feel sufficient pressure."
"Full enforcement of existing sanctions and the imposition of additional sanctions on Iran for its ballistic missile program are necessary," the senators wrote. "We look forward to supporting your administration's efforts to hold Iran accountable."
Iran responded quickly, saying it would not yield to "useless" US threats from "an inexperienced person" over its missile program.
"This is not the first time that an inexperienced person has threatened Iran," Ali Akbar Velayati, a top adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said on Thursday. "The American government will understand that threatening Iran is useless."
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif weighed in a day later, saying the Islamic Republic was "unmoved" by the US's threats and that Tehran would never initiate war.
"Iran unmoved by threats as we derive security from our people," Zarif tweeted on Friday. "Will never initiate war, but we can only rely on our own means of defense."
He added that Iran had no intention to use its military might against a country.
"We will never use our weapons against anyone, except in self-defense," he tweeted. "Let us see if any of those who complain can make the same statement."
Reuters contributed reporting.
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