Trump: New US sanctions are aimed at Ayatollah Khamenei
On Monday, June 24, US President Donald Trump signed a decree imposing new sanctions on Iran in front of the cameras of news networks. According to Trump, these sanctions are aimed at Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, and his office.
On Monday, June 24, US President Donald Trump signed a decree imposing new sanctions on Iran at the White House in front of news network cameras.
Before signing the sanctions order, Trump said the new sanctions target Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his office and prevent the leader of the Islamic Republic from accessing financial resources.
US President Ali Khamenei declared the Islamic Republic's Supreme Leader "responsible for hostile actions."
"Iran should never have nuclear weapons. Iran must stop supporting terrorism," he said.
The US President once again announced that he remains ready to negotiate with Iran without preconditions.
He said: "I am willing to negotiate, if the Iranian leaders want it. If they don't, it's not a problem. But we would like this negotiation to take place."
Trump added: "Maybe this (negotiation) will happen soon."
The US President emphasized: "We are not looking for war with Iran or with any other country. We have shown a lot of restraint, but we may not be able to continue (this restraint) any longer."
The US president continued his speech by calling Iranians a "wonderful" people and said that if Iran is not truly seeking nuclear weapons, the two countries could reach an agreement very quickly.
According to the US President, the new sanctions are retaliation for the Revolutionary Guard's action in shooting down an American surveillance drone over the Persian Gulf.
An American Global Hawk surveillance drone was targeted and shot down by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps on Thursday, June 20.
Iran has said it shot down the drone after it entered its airspace in the Mount Mubarak region of Hormozgan province. The United States has rejected Iran's claim, saying the drone was flying in "international airspace."
Javad Zarif on the sanctions list
After Donald Trump signed the sanctions order, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin appeared before reporters and said that billions of dollars in Iranian assets would be frozen as a result of the new sanctions.
According to him, the US has also added Ayatollah Khamenei's office, Commander of the IRGC Navy, Brigadier General Alireza Tangsiri, Commander of the IRGC Aerospace Force, and Brigadier General Mohammad Pakpour, Commander of the IRGC Ground Force, to the US sanctions list.
In addition, according to Mnuchin, a number of IRGC naval commanders, namely Abbas Gholamshahi, Ramadan Zirahi, Yadollah Badin, Mansour Ravankar, and Ali Ozamai, have also been blacklisted by the United States.
According to US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif will soon be placed on the US sanctions list. He said that the Iranian Foreign Minister's name will be added to the US sanctions blacklist by the end of this week at the latest.
Source: DW
