The US imposed fresh sanctions on Iran as President Donald Trump seeks to punish Tehran for its ballistic missile programme after warning that the Islamic Republic that it is “playing with fire.” In a statement Friday morning, the Treasury Department published a list of 13 individuals and 12 entities facing new restrictions for supporting the missile programme, having links to terrorism or providing support for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The entities include companies based in Tehran, United Arab Emirates, Lebanon and China. “This action reflects the United States’ commitment to enforcing sanctions on Iran with respect to its ballistic missile programme and destabilising activities in the region and is fully consistent with the United States’ commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action,” the statement said in a reference to the nuclear accord Iran reached with the US and five other world powers. Trump declared in a tweet early on Friday. The Trump administration has taken a hard line on Iran, banning its citizens from entering the US and accusing the nation of interfering in the affairs of US allies in the Middle East.
