Up to two dozen Iranian individuals, companies and possibly government agencies could be penalized as part of the move.
Sources familiar with the matter confirmed to Fox News the administration is expected to announce the measures as early as Friday.
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, according to AP.
The impending sanctions come the same week that Trump and his aides issued cryptic warnings about potential retaliation against the regime in Tehran for testing a ballistic missile and for supporting Houthis in Yemen.
The Iranian regime is arming and financing the group, 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.
“As of today, we are officially putting Iran on notice,” said Trump’s national security adviser, Michael Flynn.
Military officials told Fox News that Iran regime actually has conducted two recent missile tests, one on Dec. 6 and another this past Sunday.
U.N. resolution 2231 calls on Tehran not to conduct such tests. The resolution bars it from conducting ballistic missile tests for eight years and went into effect on July 20, 2015, days after the nuclear deal was agreed to in Vienna.
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.
Source: / ncr – iran /