The Trump administration is working on new efforts to “enforce and expand” its maximum pressure campaign on Iran in the wake of increased military threats, including Tehran’s launch last week of a spy satellite.
The White House will continue to amp up the economic pressure on Iran until it comes to the table for “comprehensive negotiations,” a demand Tehran has rejected since President Donald Trump took office, a senior Trump administration official told the Washington Free Beacon.
Officials are contemplating an array of options including sanctions on Iran’s sponsorship of regional terror groups operating in Iraq, Yemen, Syria, and Lebanon—military hotspots where Tehran arms and directs militia groups including Hezbollah. Other efforts are currently taking place at the United Nations, where the Trump administration is laying the groundwork to expand an embargo on Iran’s purchase of military equipment from countries like Russia and China.
“The president has been clear that the United States will enforce and expand maximum pressure to impose costs on Iran’s malign behavior so the regime will enter comprehensive negotiations,” the senior administration official told the Free Beacon.
The increased pressure on Iran comes less than a week after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) successfully launched its first-ever military satellite, marking a significant step in Iran’s ballistic missile program, portions of which would be legitimized if the U.N. arms embargo were lifted. Iran has also stepped up aggressive action in the Persian Gulf and recently threatened to attack 400 U.S. military sites around the world. – READ MORE
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