“Our actions make it harder and more costly for Iran to continue its destabilizing behavior at every turn,” Yellen said in a statement. “We will continue to deploy our sanctions authority to counter Iran with further actions in the days and weeks to come.”
Targets of the latest sanctions include 16 people and two companies that enable drone production in Iran. Five companies that supply materials to Iranian steel producer Khuzestan Steel Company were also sanctioned. The Treasury is also sanctioning three subsidiaries of an Iranian automaker accused of supporting the Iranian regime.
Iran sent more than 300 drones and missiles to Israel this weekend in response to a deadly Israeli attack on an Iranian consulate in Syria. The Iranian assault did not cause major damage or injuries, as Israeli, U.S. and other forces intercepted most of the barrage.
The new sanctions, which the administration announced were coming earlier this week, appear intended to ease rather than inflame tensions in the region as President Biden seeks to prevent a wider spread of hostilities in the Middle East.
Some critics have pushed the administration to go further in reducing Iranian revenues by sanctioning China’s massive purchases of Iranian oil. The Treasury Department has taken some steps to sanction Chinese companies that do so, but a more ambitious crackdown would risk driving up global oil prices, and thus U.S. gas prices in an election year.
washingtonpost
