SULAIMANI (ESTA) — The United States on Tuesday imposed counter terrorism sanctions on five people it tied to Iran, designating them each as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT), according to the U.S. Treasury Department’s website.
Reuters reported on Monday that U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo plans to use newly declassified U.S. intelligence to publicly accuse Iran of ties to al Qaeda in a speech on Tuesday, two people familiar with the matter said, as part of his last-minute offensive against Tehran before handing over to the incoming Biden administration.
Pompeo has accused Iran of links to al Qaeda in the past but has not provided concrete evidence.
Shia Iran and al Qaeda, a Sunni Muslim militant organization, have long been sectarian foes.
Iran has been a target throughout the Trump administration and Pompeo has sought to further ratchet up pressure on Iran in recent weeks with more sanctions and heated rhetoric.
Advisers to President-elect Joe Biden believe the Trump administration is trying to make it harder for him to re-engage with Iran and seek to rejoin an international deal on Iran’s nuclear program.
Relations between Tehran and Washington have deteriorated since 2018 when Trump abandoned Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal, which imposed strict curbs on its nuclear activities in return for the lifting of sanctions.
Since the beginning of his administration, Trump has imposed sanctions on Iranian officials, politicians and companies in an effort to force Tehran to negotiate a broader deal that further limits its nuclear work.
And more sanctions are expected before Trump leaves office, U.S. officials say.
While sanctions have sharply lowered Tehran’s oil exports and increased the economic hardship of ordinary Iranians, it has failed to bring Iran back to the negotiating table.
Biden has said the United States will rejoin the nuclear deal “if Iran resumes strict compliance.”
(Esta Media Network/Reuters)
