“Our actions make it harder and costlier at every turn for Iran to continue its destabilizing behavior,” Yellen said in a statement. “We will continue to deploy our sanctions authority to counter Iran with further actions in the days and weeks ahead.”
The targets of the latest sanctions include 16 people and two companies that enable Iran’s drone production. Five companies that provide materials for Iranian steel producer Khuzestan Steel Company were also sanctioned. Treasury is also sanctioning three subsidiaries of an Iranian automaker accused of supporting the Iranian regime.
Iran over the weekend sent more than 300 drones and missiles toward Israel in response to a deadly Israeli attack on an Iranian consulate in Syria. The Iranian assault did not cause major damage or injuries, because Israeli, U.S. and other forces intercepted most of the barrage.
The new sanctions, which the administration had earlier this week signaled they were to come, appear designed to tame rather than inflame tensions in the region, as President Biden has sought to prevent a wider spread of hostilities in the Middle East.
Some critics have pushed the administration to go further to reduce Iranian revenue by sanctioning China’s massive purchases of Iranian oil. The Treasury Department has taken some steps to sanction Chinese firms for doing so, but a more ambitious crackdown would risk raising global oil prices, and therefore U.S. gas prices in an election year.
