WASHINGTON: The Trump administration announced additional sanctions against Iran on Friday, a day after putting Tehran ‘on alert’ for testing a ballistic missile that US officials claimed violated an international weapons agreement.

Iran rejects the charge as incorrect.

The US Treasury Department said it was sanctioning individuals and businesses that support Iran’s ballistic missile programme and the country’s Quds Force military unit.

Diplomatic observers say the sanctions could strain ties between the United States and Iran that improved a little after the Obama administration signed a nuclear deal with Tehran and released the funds it had been withholding for years.

US National Security Adviser Michael Flynn said the US had to take some action after the missile test which, he added, was “provocative” and defied a United Nations Security Council resolution.

US president refuses to rule out military action, saying Tehran is playing with fire

The US media, however, noted that the new sanctions were carefully drafted to avoid violating the Iran nuclear deal, which called for the lifting of major sanctions against Tehran in exchange for a curtailment of its nuclear programme.

On Thursday, when US President Donald Trump tweeted that it was putting Iran “on notice,” Iran dismissed his remarks as ‘ranting’ and vowed more missile tests.

But Friday’s action indicates that the Trump administration would be more aggressive in its dealings with Iran than the previous administration and similar measures could even endanger the nuclear deal that the Obama administration presented as one of its major foreign policy achievements, along with the re-establishing of ties with Cuba.

Hours before the Trea­sury Department annou­nced the new sanctions, President Trump refused to rule out military action against Iran, saying that “nothing is off the table” when it comes to confronting “destabilising behaviour” from the country.

“Iran is playing with fire — they don’t appreciate how ‘kind’ President Obama was to them. Not me!” he tweeted on Friday.

Mr Trump had railed against the nuclear deal during the election campaign but one of his aides told a news briefing earlier this week that the agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, would remain in place for now.

Interestingly, the Trump administration’s aggressive approach to Iran received a backing from a group of both Republican and Democratic lawmakers who demanded an aggressive action against Iran as a rebuttal to its missile launches.

“Iran’s dangerous and provocative acts are a direct threat to the United States and our allies,” said House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Ed Royce in a statement on Friday. “I’m glad the administration is taking long-overdue steps to hold the regime accountable.”

AFP adds: Officials said the new measures were also in response to Iran’s perceived support for Huthi rebels in Yemen, who recently targeted a Saudi warship.

This week Huthi forces attacked a Saudi warship operating off Yemen and on Friday a US official said: “We’re very concerned about freedom of navigation in the Bab el-Mandeb area.”

The senior official said Iran was “not necessarily responsible for every tactical decision” made by Huthi forces, but that it will be made to bear responsibility for its “proxies”.

Published in Dawn February 4th, 2017