President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday slapping a host of new sanctions on Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei and key officials in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, delivering a tough response targeted against the Iranian military elements who claimed credit for downing a US drone Thursday.
The sanctions are meant to "deny the Supreme Leader and the Supreme Leader's office and those closely affiliated with him and the office access to key financial resources," according to Trump.
"I think a lot of restraint has been shown by us — a lot of restraint — and that doesn't mean we're going to show it in the future," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. "Today's action follows a series of aggressive behaviors by the Iranian regime in recent weeks including shooting down of U.S. drones."
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin briefed reporters on the new sanctions as well, pushing back on assertions they are purely symbolic.
"For the people who say these are just symbolic that's not the case at all," he said. "We've literally locked up tens and tens of billions of dollars. These sanctions will come along with additional entities where people are hiding money. So no, these sanctions are highly effective."
Mnuchin also noted that sanctions would be coming later in the week to directly target Iran Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.
The sanctions come after the Iranian military shot down a US military drone over the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday. The sanctions target leaders in the IRGC the US believes are directly responsible for the incident.
The ongoing tensions between the US and Iran have also led to fears that war could soon break out, though the Trump administration so far has resorted to cyber attacks and increased sanctions.
