Tehran: Iran on Saturday imposed sanctions against 61 more Americans. former Secretary of State
Mike Pompeo, Republican former President Donald Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani and former White House national security adviser
John Bolton were among the 61
US nationals against whom sanctions were imposed for supporting exiled dissident group Mujahideen-e-Khalq (MEK), reported Reuters.
MEK is an Iranian political-militant organisation that wanted to overthrow the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran and establish its own government. The development came after US President Joe Biden completed his four-day tour of the Middle East. These sanctions will let Iranian authorities seize the assets of the people mentioned in the list.
Responding to the sanctions by Iran, the US pledged to protect its citizens in spite of any political disagreements. “The
United States will protect and defend its citizens. This includes those serving the United States now and those who formerly served,” a State Department spokesperson said as quoted by Reuters.
Notably, the sanctions were imposed at the time when the indirect talks to revive the
2015 nuclear deal between Iran and the US ended without any progress. these talks were held in Qatar’s capital city Doha in June this year with the mediation on the European Union.
The nuclear deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), was signed between Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council – China, France, Russia, United Kingdom, United States, the European Union and Germany in 2015 in Vienna. However, in 2018, the US pulled out of the deal as then US President Donald Trump had said that he would negotiate a better deal.
