The United States is introducing additional sanctions on Iran in retaliation to the attack on the US military in Iraq earlier this week, US Secretary of Treasury Steven Mnuchin said at a press briefing in Washington, DC.
According to the official, the new restrictions will target senior Iranian officials and the nation's steel industry, as well as manufacturing, textiles, mining, and other domains of the Iranian economy.
"We are taking action against eight senior Iranian officials who advanced the regimes destabilising activity and were involved in Tuesday's ballistic missile strike," Mnuchin said.
Mnuchin added that persons engaged in the investigation of the Iranian plane crash will not be affected by the sanctions.
"Treasury will issue waivers for anybody - whether it's Americans or others - that can help facilitate the investigation", Mnuchin said during the press conference.
Tensions Running High
Tensions in the Middle East reached a boiling point after the US assassinated Iranian top military commander Qasem Soleimani.
Tehran launched 15 missiles targeting the American military at the Ayn al-Asad Air Base and a facility in Erbil in Iraq in retaliation to the general's killing.
The tensions seem to have calmed down a little after US President Trump pledged a new round of sanctions instead of resorting to a military response to Iran's strikes.
