US imposes further Iran sanctions in response to missile strikes

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the new sanctions will target eight senior Iranian officials as well as companies in the steel and other sectors. 

Iran this week launched the strikes in retaliation for the US drone strike that killed General Qassem Soleiman, the head of the powerful Quds Force, in Baghdad last week. 

“As a result of these actions we will cut off billions of dollars of support to the Iranian regime,” the US treasury secretary said. 

The administration has already reinstated all the US sanctions that were eased under the 2015 nuclear deal, which has caused significant economic hardship in Iran and cut its oil exports to historic lows.

(FRANCE 24 with AP)