The last days of the Trump presidency: the US imposes new sanctions against Iran

18 January 2021

The United States has imposed a number of new sanctions on Iran, which include not only state-owned companies, but also a number of Chinese and Arab enterprises doing business with Tehran

On Friday this week, the United States imposed new sanctions on companies in Iran, China and the United Arab Emirates for doing business with the Islamic Republic of Iran, as well as for trading and distributing conventional weapons through the mediation of three major Iranian organizations.

The sanctions are the latest in a series of measures aimed at increasing pressure on Tehran in the final days of President Donald Trump's administration, which will come to an end on Wednesday.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Washington has already imposed sanctions on seven companies, including China's Jiangyin Mascot Special Steel Co and Arab company Accenture Building Materials, as well as two individuals for helping to ship steel to Iran. He also noted that the Iranian Maritime Industry Organization, the Aerospace Industry Organization and the Aviation Industry Organization were blacklisted due to the proliferation of conventional weapons.

Later on Friday, in a statement, Pompeo confirmed that the US will also increase the number of sanctions related to the metal trade imposed earlier by the country's State Department.

According to him, any organization that sells a number of materials that can be used in the construction of nuclear, military or ballistic missiles under Iran's program, including certain types of steel and aluminum, will be subject to sanctions.

The head of the presidential Administration of Iran, Mahmoud Vaezi, in his response statement noted that the introduced countermeasures only demonstrate the hostility of the Trump administration towards Iran.

During his four years in office, Trump has tried to force Tehran to return to negotiations over the country's nuclear and ballistic missile programs and its activities in the Middle East.

In 2018, Trump announced that an agreement could not be reached and pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal that Tehran struck with world powers in 2015. One of the terms of the deal was to stop the development of the nuclear program in response to the easing of sanctions.

The newly elected Democratic President, Joe Biden, who will succeed Trump on Wednesday, said he would return to the 2015 nuclear pact if Iran confirms its intention to comply with the terms of the deal.