President Trump sanctions the worst elements of the Iranian regime
President Donald J. Trump signed an executive order this morning that imposes tough sanctions to deprive the Supreme Leader of Iran and some of his closest associates of key financial resources.
Watch: President Trump announces new sanctions on Iranian leaders“Today’s action follows a series of aggressive behaviors by the Iranian regime in recent weeks,” the President said from the Oval Office. “The Supreme Leader of Iran is [the] one who ultimately is responsible for the hostile conduct of the regime . . . His office oversees the regime’s most brutal instruments, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.” The President’s actions are a strong yet proportionate response to Iran’s recent string of provocative behaviors. Last week, Iran shot down an American drone over international waters. Earliest this month, Iran attacked two commercial vessels and used proxy forces to attack civilian infrastructure in Saudi Arabia. Perhaps most alarming, the regime also recently announced that it will be increasing its stockpile of enriched uranium in the coming days. Today’s sanctions send a firm message to Tehran: They’re no longer dealing with an Administration naive or indifferent to their malign behavior. In Fox News, Middle East expert Tom Basile called former President Obama’s “sweetheart deal with Iran” his worst foreign policy blunder of all. “Obama wanted his Iran deal at all costs, and those costs were steep. It amounted to access to more than $100 billion, ending most sanctions, opening the country to foreign investment, among other benefits for the regime,” Basile writes. In other words, the Iran deal handed the world’s largest state sponsor of terror unprecedented financial capabilities. Those days are over. Last year, President Trump withdrew the United States from the deal and put the regime on notice—either change course or face crippling economic pressure. That choice became even clearer today when the President authorized putting sanctions on anyone who provides material support to the Supreme Leader’s Office. America is standing firm against the worst elements of the Iranian regime.Watch: Iran can never get a nuclear weapon, President Trump says
|