US will sanction Iran’s Khamenei, Zarif

Washington: The United States will blacklist Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and block “billions” more in Iranian assets as part of expanded sanctions, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Monday.

Mnuchin told reporters Zarif would be added to an economic sanctions list “later this week,” adding that eight top military commanders from Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have now also been blacklisted.

The Treasury Department’s announcement came as President Donald Trump authorised sanctions on Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.