Trump Administration Announces New Sanctions on Iran Following Soleimani Killing

The Trump administration has unveiled a new round of sanctions against Iran following a week of increased tensions between the U.S. and the Islamic republic. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin announced the new sanctions on Friday morning.

The sanctions target named Iranian officials in the country’s army and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IGRC) and also take aim at the Iranian steel industry. Though technical rather than attention-grabbing, they will cause further problems for the already heavily sanctioned regime.

New #Iran sanctions https://t.co/eH8xZhjz1j pic.twitter.com/C0Lm9PccRb

— Joyce Karam (@Joyce_Karam) January 10, 2020

The sanctions are officially a response to Iranian missile strikes on U.S. military bases in Iraq, which were themselves retaliatory strikes for the killing of Soleimani, the country’s top military leader and head of the important al-Quds forces.

HAPPENING NOW: Sec. of State Mike Pompeo, Treasury Sec. Steven Mnuchin announce additional Iran sanctions. https://t.co/SzlRoza6J4

— ABC News (@ABC) January 10, 2020

Pompeo and Mnuchin briefly took questions but offered no new information on the justification for the strike. The sanctions were widely anticipated and Iran is likely to make a statement on the matter before the end of the day.