The Obama administration on Thursday sought to increase pressure on Iran by imposing additional sanctions against companies and people involved in the country's nuclear and missile programs.
The U.S. Treasury Department announced new financial sanctions against individuals, including an Austrian national and three Iranians, and entities allegedly involved in Iranian nuclear and missile proliferation activities. Several of the firms are already subject to U.S. and European sanctions.
"Iran today is under intense, multilateral sanctions pressure, and we will continue to ratchet up the pressure so long as Iran refuses to address the international community's well-founded concerns about its nuclear program," the AP quoted as saying David Cohen, Treasury's undersecretary for terrorism and financial Intelligence. "Today's actions are our next step on that path, taking direct aim at disrupting Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile programs as well as its deceptive efforts to use front companies to sell and move its oil."
