Tehran Sanctions President Trump, Senior Officials on Final Day

Iran on Tuesday announced the blacklisting of outgoing US President Donald Trump and a group of senior White House officials, placing mostly symbolic sanctions on the president during his last day in office. According to Tehran, any assets in Iran belonging to President Trump or his allies will be seized, because of the administration’s “terrorist and anti-human rights” activities. Among the officials blacklisted alongside the president are Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, former Defense Secretary Mark Esper, acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Central Intelligence Agency Director Gina Haspel, former National Security Adviser John Bolton, former Iran envoy Brian Hook, Washington’s special representative on Iran and Venezuela Elliott Abrams, and Treasury Department sanctions official Andrea Gacki. Over the past two years, the Trump Administration has leveled countless sanctions against Iran’s economy and government, oil sector, infrastructure companies and financial institutions. The “maximum pressure” policy was employed following the president’s decision to pull out of the 2015 nuclear deal reached by Iran and world powers. Incoming President Joe Biden has signaled his intention to rejoin the agreement.