With military action on hold, the US puts new sanctions on Iran
The economic penalties target the leaders of a bloody crackdown and companies that support Tehran’s illicit oil trade.
DUBAI—With a decision on military action on pause, the U.S. turned to economic pressure on Iran, rolling out a host of new sanctions on officials it said were responsible for the bloody crackdown on nationwide protests.
Top of the U.S. Treasury Department’s new sanctions list was Ali Larijani, the head of Iran’s national security council and a close counterpart to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. The Treasury Department accused Larijani of coordinating the crackdown, which human rights groups estimate has left thousands dead.
The death toll has risen past 2,600, according to U.S. nonprofit Human Rights Activists in Iran, with more than 19,000 arrests.
President Trump had repeatedly threatened to attack Iran if it launched a violent crackdown against protesters, and he has encouraged Iranians to remain in the streets and take over the country’s institutions.
But after being advised the U.S. didn’t have enough forces in the region to deal a substantial blow to the regime and counter any retaliatory strikes, he opted to hold off until more firepower could be brought to bear, officials told The Wall Street Journal.
Trump hasn’t decided whether to exercise a military option, they said. The president’s advisers had also presented him with a range of other options, from cyberattacks to economic pressure.
“At the direction of President Trump, the Treasury Department is sanctioning key Iranian leaders involved in the brutal crackdown against the Iranian people," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said.
The sanctions hit a number of officials, including commanders in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a powerful branch in Iran’s military, and several senior police officials. The sanctions effectively cut their targets off from the U.S. financial system.
Sanctions also targeted entities the Treasury Department says help launder the proceeds of Iranian oil through a shadow banking network. They included companies based in the United Arab Emirates that allegedly serve as fronts and support Iran’s oil sales.
Iran has used its Arab neighbor, a U.S. security partner, to launder funds, evade sanctions and finance its proxies in the region, including Hezbollah, the Journal has reported.
The U.A.E. foreign ministry and Iran’s United Nations mission didn’t respond to requests for comment.
Larijani, a conservative trusted by Supreme Leader Khamenei for the most sensitive missions, is considered too moderate by some hard-liners in Iran. Yet like many of the relatively more open-minded elite, his once-flexible positions have hardened during the unrest, which has posed the stiffest challenge to the regime in decades.
Larijani recently called Arab countries in the region, threatening them with retaliation against U.S. military bases on their soil if Washington were to attack, according to Middle East officials. Iran has publicly made the same threat.
Gulf states, fearing unrest in Iran and retaliatory strikes on their territory, have urgently lobbied the U.S. not to carry out a strike. An attack appeared to be imminent midweek, as the U.S. moved some personnel out of the key Al-Udeid air base in Qatar, Iran shut its airspace and Gulf officials braced for a strike.
While relieved it didn’t happen, Gulf officials said they still think a strike is likely once the U.S. has forces in place. Trump is monitoring how Tehran treats the protesters before deciding on a course of action.
The protests, ignited last month by a worsening economic crisis and fueled by general discontent with the regime, spread beyond Tehran to much of the country. Protesters have called for regime change, chanting “death to the dictator" and support for the son of the late shah, who was overthrown in the 1979 revolution.
The Iranian government has cracked down hard, including with live ammunition, protesters and human rights groups say. While an internet shutdown has choked back the information that reaches the outside world, verified footage from Iran has shown rows of corpses in body bags.
On Monday, President Trump said the U.S. will place a 25% tariff on countries that continue to do business with Iran, a message Treasury Secretary Bessent reiterated in a video statement while announcing the fresh sanctions Thursday.
It isn’t clear how the tariffs would affect America’s business and security partners in the region. Billions of dollars in trade flow annually between Iran and the Gulf, where countries host key U.S. military facilities. Turkey, a NATO member, is also a significant trading partner of Iran.
Write to Omar Abdel-Baqui at omar.abdel-baqui@wsj.com
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