SULAIMANI (ESTA) — The United States on Sunday warned Iran of severe consequences if it attacks Americans, including any of those sanctioned by Tehran.
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Tehran’s sanctions on Saturday came as Iran’s proxy militias continue to attacks American troops in the Middle East, according to Reuters.
“We will work with our allies and partners to deter and respond to any attacks carried out by Iran,” Sullivan said in a statement.
“Should Iran attack any of our nationals, including any of the 52 people named yesterday, it will face severe consequences,” he added.
On Saturday, Iran imposed sanctions on dozens more Americans, many of them from the U.S. military, over the 2020 killing of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani in a drone strike.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry said 51 Americans had been targeted for what it called “terrorism” and human rights violations. The step lets Iranian authorities seize any assets they hold in Iran, but the apparent absence of such assets means it will likely be symbolic.
It was not clear why Sullivan’s statement referred to 52 people when Tehran said it had sanctioned 51.
Iran’s sanctions included U.S. General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. It also included former White House national security adviser Robert O’Brien.
Soleimani, the commander of Iran’s Quds Force, the overseas arm of the elite Revolutionary Guards, was killed in Iraq in a drone strike on Jan. 3, 2020, ordered by then President Donald Trump.
In a similar move announced a year ago, Iran imposed sanctions on Trump and several senior U.S. officials over what it called “terrorist and anti-human rights” acts.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, speaking on the second anniversary of Soleimani’s assassination, said this week Trump must face trial for the killing or Tehran would take revenge.
The Trump administration rained sanctions down on Iranian officials, politicians and companies after withdrawing the United States in 2018 from Tehran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.
Iran and the United States are currently holding indirect talks in Vienna on salvaging the 2015 deal.
