US imposes sanctions on Iranian missile firms
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The United States imposed sanctions on five Iranian companies it alleges are working on part of the Islamic republic's illegal ballistic missile program.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin linked the measure to recent anti-government protests, arguing that Iran ought to spend more on public welfare rather than banned weapons.
"These sanctions target key entities involved in Iran's ballistic missile program, which the Iranian regime prioritizes over the economic well-being of the Iranian people," Mnuchin said.
"As the Iranian people suffer, their government and the IRGC fund foreign militants, terrorist groups, and human rights abuses," he added.
"The United States will continue to decisively counter the Iranian regime's malign activity, including additional sanctions targeting human rights abuses.
"We will not hesitate to call out the regime's economic mismanagement, and diversion of significant resources to fund threatening missile systems at the expense of its citizenry."
The five designated companies are all subsidiaries of Iran's Shahid Bakeri Industrial Group (SBIG).
Under the sanctions, any assets that the firms hold in places under US jurisdiction will be frozen and US citizens are forbidden from doing business with them.
And, perhaps more importantly, foreign institutions who work with the companies could be locked out of the US financial system -- a risk that European banks, for example, would be loathe to take.
The United States has also requested for a UN Security Council emergency meeting today to discuss the wave of protests in Iran.
