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New US sanctions on Iran, days after Trump says direct talks with Islamic Republic underway

“The Iranian regime’s reckless pursuit of nuclear weapons remains a grave threat to the United States and a menace to regional stability and global security,” stated Scott Bessent, the treasury secretary.

A meeting table in the Blue Salon of the Palais Coburg Hotel in Vienna, Austria, awaits U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif before their meeting on Jan. 16, 2016, about the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action outlining the shape of Iran's nuclear program. Credit: U.S. State Department/Public Domain.
A meeting table in the Blue Salon of the Palais Coburg Hotel in Vienna, Austria, awaits U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif before their meeting on Jan. 16, 2016, about the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action outlining the shape of Iran's nuclear program. Credit: U.S. State Department/Public Domain.

Days after U.S. President Donald Trump said that direct talks were underway with the Islamic Republic and that a major meeting was scheduled for Saturday, the Trump administration announced sanctions on five entities and one person in Iran for supporting the regime’s nuclear program.

“The Iranian regime’s reckless pursuit of nuclear weapons remains a grave threat to the United States and a menace to regional stability and global security,” stated Scott Bessent, the U.S. treasury secretary. 

“Treasury will continue to leverage our tools and authorities to disrupt any attempt by Iran to advance its nuclear program and its broader destabilizing agenda,” the secretary said.

Those sanctioned have supported the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran and the AEOI-subordinate Iran Centrifuge Technology Company, according to the U.S. Departments of State and of the Treasury.

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