President Trump struck back Monday at Iran by issuing “hard-hitting” financial sanctions against Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his associates.
“Today’s action follows a series of aggressive behaviors by the Iranian regime in recent weeks including shooting down a U.S. drone,” the president said in the Oval Office, calling Khamenei “responsible for the hostile conduct of the regime.”
Trump said the sanctions “will deny the supreme leader and the supreme leader’s office and those closely affiliated with him and the office access to key financial resources and support.” Speaking to reporters in the White House briefing room Monday, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the sanctions “lock up literally billions of dollars more of assets.”
“Along with that action today, we are also announcing specific actions targeting those responsible for recent activities,” Mnuchin said, adding that the president has instructed him to sanction Iran’s Foreign Minister Javad Zarif “later this week.”
The Treasury Department, in a news release, said “any foreign financial institution that knowingly facilitates a significant financial transaction for entities designated under this Executive Order could be cut off from the U.S. financial system.”
Obama admin first launched the investigation into Ilhan Omar’s alleged brother marriage
Ex-chief says Christa Pike was ‘almost giddy’ describing murder as governor weighs in after botched execution
Maine, Kansas Senate races neck and neck as Democrats lead in Texas, Michigan, poll shows
Lindsay Clancy’s lawyer denies she’ll testify about homicidal thoughts in ex’s suit against her doctors
What comes next for Mary Peltola as her campaign faces decoy investigation
AG Todd Blanche Calls a Spade a Spade on Alaska Dems: ‘They Are Cheating’
Alaska Governor Orders Investigation Into Alleged Dem Ballot Plot to Trick and Confuse GOP Voters
Israeli top election official orders Shin Bet to investigate allegations of foreign interference with Arab vote
Bolsonaro declares himself ‘leader’ of Brazil after fleeing country, arriving in Miami
Judge rejects DOJ request to block California from immediately counting ballots linked to alleged noncitizens
Fiance of Dem Who Lost to El-Sayed in Close Primary Announces He’s Voting For His GOP Challenger Because of Anti-Semitism, Libs Flip
Is Hasan Piker Disenfranchising Blacks? You Have To Show ID to Get Into Terror-Supporting Commie’s Events, After All
Thune goes all-in on campaign trail as Schumer stays on bench, faces rejection from fellow Dems
DHS investigates massive data breach exposing 40,000 employees, including ICE and Border Patrol agents
Haley Stevens’s Democratic fiance backs Mike Rogers, says el Sayed imperils Jewish community
Amid the newly announced sanctions, Fox News has confirmed that the U.S. military also carried out a cyberattack against Iran last Thursday even as the president nixed plans for airstrikes in response to the downing of an American drone.
Sources said U.S. Cyber Command launched the cyberattack targeting the Iranian intelligence and radar installations used to down the U.S. Navy drone last week.
Fox News has learned Iran shut off some of its military radar sites around the time the U.S. was poised to launch retaliatory strikes. It’s not clear if those radar sites were turned off by the cyberattack or if Iran shut them off deliberately in anticipation of this.
Yahoo! News first reported on the retaliatory cyber strike. It came as the White House and Pentagon were also considering military strikes, but Trump revealed last Friday that he called them off after learning up to 150 Iranians could be killed.
Obama admin first launched the investigation into Ilhan Omar’s alleged brother marriage
Ex-chief says Christa Pike was ‘almost giddy’ describing murder as governor weighs in after botched execution
Maine, Kansas Senate races neck and neck as Democrats lead in Texas, Michigan, poll shows
Lindsay Clancy’s lawyer denies she’ll testify about homicidal thoughts in ex’s suit against her doctors
What comes next for Mary Peltola as her campaign faces decoy investigation
AG Todd Blanche Calls a Spade a Spade on Alaska Dems: ‘They Are Cheating’
Alaska Governor Orders Investigation Into Alleged Dem Ballot Plot to Trick and Confuse GOP Voters
Israeli top election official orders Shin Bet to investigate allegations of foreign interference with Arab vote
Bolsonaro declares himself ‘leader’ of Brazil after fleeing country, arriving in Miami
Judge rejects DOJ request to block California from immediately counting ballots linked to alleged noncitizens
Fiance of Dem Who Lost to El-Sayed in Close Primary Announces He’s Voting For His GOP Challenger Because of Anti-Semitism, Libs Flip
Is Hasan Piker Disenfranchising Blacks? You Have To Show ID to Get Into Terror-Supporting Commie’s Events, After All
Thune goes all-in on campaign trail as Schumer stays on bench, faces rejection from fellow Dems
DHS investigates massive data breach exposing 40,000 employees, including ICE and Border Patrol agents
Haley Stevens’s Democratic fiance backs Mike Rogers, says el Sayed imperils Jewish community
“I stopped it, not … proportionate to shooting down an unmanned drone,” he tweeted at the time.
The drone shoot-down was only the latest flare-up in the region tied to Iran.
In recent weeks, six oil tankers have been attacked in the Gulf of Oman, which the U.S. and its Gulf allies blame on Iran.
Story cited here.
