The US Treasury Department announced the measures against 13 people and a dozen companies on Friday. President Donald Trump tweeted earlier: "Iran is playing with fire – they don't appreciate how 'kind' President Obama was to them. Not me!" But Iran has said it will not yield to "useless" American threats from "an inexperienced person".
Archives
Donald Trump loosens sanctions preventing Russia intelligence agencies from cyberspying
Donald Trump's government has loosened sanctions imposed by Barack Obama on Russia's Federal Security Service, that would make it easier for US companies to do business with the intelligence agency. The FSB was the only Russian intelligence entity named in the amendment announced Thursday, leaving much of the emergency action taken by Mr Obama intact.
Exxon Mobil Seeks U.S. Sanctions Waiver for Oil Project in Russia
Exxon Mobil is pursuing a waiver from Treasury Department sanctions on Russia so it may drill in the Black Sea in a venture with the Russian state oil company Rosneft, a former State Department official said Wednesday. An oil industry official confirmed the account. The waiver application was made under the Obama administration, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity, and the company has not dropped the proposal.
Iran Nuclear Deal Will Remain, for Now, White House Signals
The Trump administration signaled on Wednesday that it would not, for now, jettison the Iran nuclear deal, despite the president’s harsh criticisms of the agreement during the campaign. But while acknowledging that the deal would remain in place, the administration imposed modest new sanctions against several Iranian individuals and four other organizations, including a China-based network that supplied missile-related items to a key Iranian defense entity. This statement on Iran came two days before Iranian elections, and just ahead of Mr. Trump’s first overseas trip as president.
Senators strike comprehensive deal to increase Russia sanctions
Senators have struck a deal to put a comprehensive Russia sanctions bill on the floor this week, according to those negotiating the legislation. The measure, which will be attached to a bill to stiffen Iran sanctions that is under consideration, incorporates proposals to codify existing Russia sanctions, introduce punitive measures against Moscow in light of Russia’s aggressive activities in Ukraine, introduce measures addressing Syria and the realm of cyberhacking, and give Congress the power to review efforts by the administration to scale back sanctions against Russia before they can go through.
Eye-Popping Washington Post report explains why Obama's retaliation against Putin was so weak.
As has been previously reported, President Obama and others in the administration were deeply wary of creating the impression that responses to Russia’s actions were motivated by a desire to aid Hillary Clinton’s election. The administration assumed that a highly likely Clinton victory in November would give the new administration ample time to pursue aggressive counteraction. Trump’s election, of course, upended things:
As Relations Worsen, Iran Says U.S. Sanctions May Violate Nuclear Deal
Mohammad Javad Zarif, the foreign minister of Iran, charged on Tuesday that the Trump administration’s attempt to reimpose sanctions on his country was a violation of the accord signed two years ago that sharply limited Iran’s ability to produce nuclear material in return for its reintegration into the world economy. “It is not clear what the administration is trying to do,” said Mr. Zarif, the urbane, American-educated diplomat who negotiated the agreement with John Kerry, then the American secretary of state.
Russia seizes American property in Moscow and cuts US diplomatic staff in retaliation to fresh sanctions
Russia has ordered America to cut the number of diplomatic staff it has in the country and has seized a dacha compound and warehouse used by US officials in retaliation for new sanctions against Moscow. Embassy staff must leave the country by 1 September, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement, in a move triggered by the US Senate’s near unanimous vote to slap new sanctions on Russia, further hurting its fragile economy.The number of American diplomats in Russia will fall to 455 under the plan Reuters
Mnuchin: More Sanctions For Iran Due To ‘Provocative Space Launch’
The United States punished Iran on Friday for launching a satellite-carrying rocket into space by hitting six Iranian entities with sanctions targeting the country’s ballistic missiles program. The sanctions hit six Iranian subsidiaries of the Shahid Hemmat Industrial Group, described by the Treasury Department as “central” to Iran’s ballistic missiles program. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin cast the sanctions as part of an ongoing U.S. effort to aggressively oppose Iran’s ballistic missile activity, including what he called a “provocative space launch” carried out by the Islamic Republic on Thursday.
North Korea Launches Another Missile, Escalating Crisis
North Korea fired a ballistic missile over Japan on Friday, a bold test that defied the new sanctions resolution adopted by the United Nations Security Council earlier this week, as well as repeated warnings from around the world that the country should stop raising tensions