Iran imposes sanctions on 15 US officials as nuclear talks stall
April 9, 2022, 6:18 pm

Iran imposes sanctions on 15 US officials as nuclear talks stall (File photo: Pixabay)

The Asharq Al-Awsat reported, Iran said on Saturday (Apr 9) that it had imposed sanctions on 15 more US officials, including former Army Chief of Staff George Casey and former President Donald Trump's attorney Rudy Giuliani, as months of talks to revive a 2015 nuclear deal have stalled.

Almost all the officials named served during Trump's administration which imposed sanctions on Iranian officials, politicians and companies and withdrew the United States from the Tehran's nuclear deal with world powers.

In a statement carried by local media, the Iranian foreign ministry accused the US officials of supporting "terrorist groups and terrorist acts” against Iran, and Israel’s "repressive acts” in the region and against the Palestinian people.

Eleven months of indirect talks between Iran and the United States in Vienna on salvaging the deal have stalled as both sides say political decisions are required by Tehran and Washington to settle the remaining issues.

Iran said on Saturday (Apr 9) that it had imposed sanctions on 15 more US officials, including former Army Chief of Staff George Casey and former President Donald Trump's attorney Rudy Giuliani, as months of talks to revive a 2015 nuclear deal have stalled (File photo: Shutterstock)

Gen. Austin Scott Miller, former commander of US forces in Afghanistan, former US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, and several former ambassadors are among the officials targeted by the new Iranian sanctions.

In a similar move announced in January, Iran imposed sanctions on 51 Americans, many of them from the US military, over the 2020 killing of General Qassem Soleimani in a drone strike in Iraq.

President Raisi says Iran will not give up its 'nuclear rights'

Last year, it imposed sanctions on Trump and several senior US officials.

Source: aawsat

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Upon arriving to participate in the summit of the European Political Community, which includes around forty heads of state in Budapest, he said, "I look forward to sitting with the elected U.S. president and seeing how we will collectively ensure we meet challenges, including the threats from Russia and North Korea." He also noted that the strengthening of ties between Russia and North Korea poses a threat to the United States as well, according to reports from Agence France-Presse.

Before Trump's victory, Rutte expressed confidence that a united Washington would remain part of the defensive alliance, even if Trump became the 47th president of the United States. In an interview with German public broadcaster ZDF last Monday night, he stated that both Republicans and Democrats understand that NATO serves not only the security of Europe but also that of America. He added that both candidates are aware that the security of the United States is closely tied to NATO.

On Wednesday, NATO congratulated Trump on his victory but did not address the Ukrainian issue.

It is noteworthy that the relationship between the elected U.S. president and the defense alliance was not the best during his first term in the White House. Trump criticized NATO member states multiple times and even hinted at withdrawing from the alliance unless they increased their financial contributions.

Additionally, the issue of the Russian-Ukrainian war is one of the matters that complicate relations between the two sides, especially since Trump has repeatedly stated that he can end this ongoing conflict, which began in 2022, quickly. He implied that he had a peace plan between Kyiv and Moscow, while his vice president, JD Vance, revealed aspects of that plan, which stipulated Ukraine's commitment not to join NATO, thereby sending reassuring signals to the Russians.

Furthermore, many NATO member states in Europe fear that Trump might halt military aid to Ukraine after he previously criticized the U.S. for pouring funds into supporting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.