Trump Imposes New Sanctions as Last Resort

The administration of the United States President Donald Trump has imposed a new set of sanctions on Iran in a last-ditch attempt to ramp up economic pressure on Tehran before he leaves office in January.
In a statement released on Wednesday, the US Treasury Department blacklisted the Mostazafan Foundation of Islamic Revolution, a large charitable organization for the poor and the disabled that answers to Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.
The treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control described the foundation as a “multibillion dollar economic empire” whose primary mission to care for the poor has become a secondary objective.
The sanctions also targeted Parviz Fattah, the head of the foundation, and 50 of its subsidiaries in sectors such as energy, mining, logistics, information technology and financial services.
It further designated several Mostazafan Foundation deputies, who are appointed by and report directly to Fattah, for what they called key business functions for the organization.
The treasury also imposed sanctions on Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi and alleged that his office played “a central role” in human rights abuses against Iranian citizens.
Firms, individuals and other entities targeted by US sanctions are subject to asset freezes and Americans are generally barred from doing business with them.
In response to the sanctions, Fattah tweeted, “The struggle of the declining US government cannot impact the foundation’s anti-sanction activities and its productivity.”
He also described Trump as “a loser and disturbed person”.
The spokesman for Iran’s mission to the United Nations in New York called the new US sanctions “a sign of desperation” of Trump’s administration.
“These latest attempts to continue a failed policy of ‘maximum pressure’ against Iran and its citizens will fail, just as all other attempts have,” Alireza Miryousefi added.
Trump has been imposing a series of tough sanctions on Iran since pulling the US out of the 2015 nuclear deal two years ago. 
Analysts believe the recent moves to ramp up pressure on Tehran in his final months in office are aimed at making it harder for President-elect Joe Biden to reengage with Iran within the framework of the nuclear deal.