On Monday, President Trump enacted sweeping sanctions against Iranian Leader Ayatollah Ali Khameni and other top officials amid rising tensions between the two countries.
Reuters reports the sanctions were “dramatic” and “unprecedented” and come as the result of Iran downing a U.S. unmanned drone in international airspace.
“With tensions running high between the two countries, Trump signed an executive order imposing the sanctions, which U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said would lock billions of dollars more in Iranian assets,” Reuters reports.
BREAKING: Iran's president says new U.S. sanctions targeting the Islamic Republic's supreme leader, others are "outrageous and idiotic."
— The Associated Press (@AP) June 25, 2019
Adding, “Trump told reporters the sanctions were in part a response to last week’s downing of a U.S. drone by Iran, but would have happened anyway. He said Khamenei was ultimately responsible for what Trump called “the hostile conduct of the regime” in the Middle East.”
President Trump has just signed an executive order to deny Iran's Supreme Leader and his associates access to key financial resources and support. pic.twitter.com/14qE9iUe61
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) June 24, 2019
According to the report, President Trump said his actions “will deny the Supreme Leader and the Supreme Leader’s office, and those closely affiliated with him and the office, access to key financial resources and support.”
Responding to the sanctions, Reuters reports Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Trump and his advisors “despise diplomacy and thirst for war.”
USA Today reports Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani mocked Trump amid the sanctions and said he is “afflicted by mental retardation.”
BREAKING: Iran's President Rouhani mocks President Trump, says the White House is "afflicted by mental retardation."
— The Associated Press (@AP) June 25, 2019
And, from the report:
The sanctions came as a response to the downing of a U.S. drone last week by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. The U.S. claims that the drone was shot down over international waters, whereas Iran insists that the drone was violating Iranian airspace.
Trump said that he considered retaliatory air strikes against Iran, but decided not to move forward when he learned that as many as 150 people would be killed, something he thought would not be a “proportionate” response to the loss of a drone.
I never called the strike against Iran “BACK,” as people are incorrectly reporting, I just stopped it from going forward at this time!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 22, 2019
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