The U.S. Sanctions 11 Iranian Individuals and Companies Linked to Missile Program

Less than a day after announcing the implementation of the JCPOA and the lifting of international sanctions related to Iran's nuclear program, the U.S. Department of the Treasury added 11 individuals and entities to its sanctions list in connection with Iran's missile program. The new sanctions announced by the U.S. Treasury are a consequence of the Emad missile test in Iran, which the Islamic Republic considers a conventional missile, but a group of UN experts who monitored the implementation of Security Council sanctions against Iran described it as a violation of UN resolutions. Following this missile test, the U.S., through Samantha Power, its permanent representative to the UN, emphasized that it is seriously reviewing this missile test, and subsequently, reports emerged indicating that new sanctions against Iranian companies and individuals were being prepared. However, two weeks ago, on the eve of the announcement of the JCPOA implementation day, Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes stated that more time was needed to prepare new sanctions against Tehran related to its missile program. On December 12, Rhodes told reporters that the U.S. government needed more diplomatic and technical actions to complete the new sanctions against Iran's missile program. According to an Associated Press report, a Treasury Department official stated that Iran's ballistic missile program is a 'significant threat to regional and global security.' The report adds that the U.S. believes that in addition to the Emad missile test, Iran conducted another missile test in November. The Associated Press report cites U.S. officials saying that the Treasury Department was supposed to announce new missile sanctions against Iran in late December or early January, but after the Iranian Foreign Minister stated that these sanctions could harm the prisoner exchange program between the two countries, this was halted. At a time when new sanctions against Iran were expected to be announced, Iranian officials reacted sharply, and President Hassan Rouhani, in a letter to his defense minister, called for accelerating Iran's missile program. On Sunday morning, the U.S., Europe, and the UN lifted international sanctions related to Iran's nuclear program following the confirmation of Iran's compliance with its nuclear commitments by the agency, and during this lifting of sanctions, 400 Iranian individuals or entities were also removed from the Treasury Department's sanctions list.