Donald Trump has signed off “hard-hitting” sanctions against Iran which target the country's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The US president’s move comes as tensions escalate between the two countries after Tehran shot down an American drone last week.
Trump said that he was targeting Ayatollah Khamenei, Iran's highest authority, because he is “ultimately responsible for the hostile conduct of the regime”.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
He added: “These measures represent a strong and proportionate response to Iran’s increasingly provocative actions.”
The Times says the move sees Washington “turn the sanctions screw” on Tehran’s leaders, but according to The Guardian their impact on an “already heavily-sanctioned country” could be “limited”.
The BBC disagrees, saying that targeting Khamenei means the sanctions are “significant” because he has the “ultimate say in Iran's politics and military”. But the New Yorker warns that “sanctioning Iran’s supreme leader” could easily “backfire”.
Speaking in the Oval Office of the White House, Trump insisted: “We do not seek conflict with Iran or any other country,” adding: “I can only tell you we cannot ever let Iran have a nuclear weapon. They are the number one sponsor of terror anywhere in the world.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said American leaders “despise diplomacy”. Taking to Twitter, Zarif also accused the Trump administration of having a "thirst for war".
Iran's UN ambassador says that growing tensions are “very dangerous” and that talks with US are impossible amid the escalation of sanctions.
Tehran’s state-backed press agency IRNA has dismissed the move as a sign of “America's desperation”. The UN Security has urged both sides to remain calm and stick to diplomacy.
Speaking to CNN, Mark Dubowitz, CEO of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said that the Ayatollah is responsible for an “estimated $200 billion corporate empire” that includes hundreds of companies with interests in agriculture, energy, real estate and other sectors.
Therefore, he argued, it would be a “big mistake” to think these sanctions are “just symbolic”.
There could be more measures to come within days. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin broke with the custom of not commenting on future sanctions actions when he told the media that Trump had already ordered him to add Iran's foreign minister Javad Zarif to the US governments sanction's list “later this week”.
-
Political cartoons for February 11Cartoons Wednesday's political cartoons include erasing Epstein, the national debt, and disease on demand
-
The Week contest: Lubricant larcenyPuzzles and Quizzes
-
Can the UK take any more rain?Today’s Big Question An Atlantic jet stream is ‘stuck’ over British skies, leading to ‘biblical’ downpours and more than 40 consecutive days of rain in some areas
-
Trump links funding to name on Penn StationSpeed Read Trump “can restart the funding with a snap of his fingers,” a Schumer insider said
-
Trump reclassifies 50,000 federal jobs to ease firingsSpeed Read The rule strips longstanding job protections from federal workers
-
Is the Gaza peace plan destined to fail?Today’s Big Question Since the ceasefire agreement in October, the situation in Gaza is still ‘precarious’, with the path to peace facing ‘many obstacles’
-
Vietnam’s ‘balancing act’ with the US, China and EuropeIn the Spotlight Despite decades of ‘steadily improving relations’, Hanoi is still ‘deeply suspicious’ of the US as it tries to ‘diversify’ its options
-
Trump demands $1B from Harvard, deepening feudSpeed Read Trump has continually gone after the university during his second term
-
‘My donation felt like a rejection of the day’s politics’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Trump’s Kennedy Center closure plan draws ireSpeed Read Trump said he will close the center for two years for ‘renovations’
-
Trump's ‘weaponization czar’ demoted at DOJSpeed Read Ed Martin lost his title as assistant attorney general
