Iran: Sanctions on 51 Americans over the death of General Soleimani

Iran on Saturday imposed sanctions on dozens of other Americans, many of them members of the military, over the killing of General Qassem Soleimani in 2020 in a drone strike, according to Reuters.

Iran’s foreign ministry says 51 Americans have been targeted for what they call “terrorism” and human rights abuses. This decision allows the Iranian authorities to seize any assets they hold in Iran, but the apparent absence of such assets means that it will most likely be symbolic.

The ministry said in a statement issued by local media that the 51 had been targeted for “their role in the US terrorist crime against witness General Qassem Soleimani and his comrades and the promotion of terrorism and human rights abuses.” rights “.

Soleimani, commander of the Quds Force, was killed in Iraq in a drone strike on January 3, 2020, on the orders of then-President Donald Trump.

Those added to the sanctions list against Iran include US General Mark Miley, the army’s chief of staff, and former White House national security adviser Robert O’Brien.

In a similar move announced a year ago, Iran imposed sanctions on Trump and several senior US officials for what he called “terrorist and anti-human rights” acts.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, speaking on the second anniversary of Soleimani’s assassination, said this week that Trump should be tried for the assassination or Tehran would take revenge.

The Trump administration has poured down a barrage of sanctions on Iranian officials, politicians and companies following the US withdrawal in 2018 from the 2015 nuclear deal.

Iran and the United States are currently holding indirect talks in Vienna on rescuing the 2015 agreement.