The US on Wednesday announced sanctions on alleged Iranian weapons procurement networks, a punishment intended to support recently reimposed UN penalties against Tehran over its nuclear programme.
The US Treasury Department said it was targeting 21 companies and 17 individuals "involved in networks that facilitate the acquisition of sensitive goods and technology" for Iran's ballistic missile and military aircraft programmes.
Washington accused the sanctioned networks of posing a "significant threat to US service members in the Middle East, US commercial ships transiting international waters and civilians".
“The Iranian regime’s support of terrorist proxies and its pursuit of nuclear weapons threaten the security of the Middle East, the United States and our allies around the world,” said Scott Bessent, US Secretary of the Treasury. “Under President [Donald] Trump’s leadership, we will deny the regime weapons it would use to further its malign objectives.”
The designations come after Iran was hit with snapback sanctions by the UN at the weekend over what western powers say is Tehran's failure to adhere to a 2015 deal to regulate its nuclear programme. Britain, France and Germany last month launched the process at the UN to reinstate the sanctions, saying Tehran was in breach of its commitments.
Under the deal reached between world powers and Iran in 2015, Iran agreed to limit uranium enrichment to levels, in exchange for economic sanctions being lifted. The UN's International Atomic Energy Agency, meanwhile, is monitoring Tehran’s nuclear programme.
The purpose of the snapback mechanism was to swiftly reimpose all sanctions in place before the deal, without being vetoed by UN Security Council members, including permanent members Russia and China, in the event that Iran was non-compliant.
Last month, Britain, France and Germany − known as the E3 − notified UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and the Security Council president that they were triggering the procedure. That began a 30-day window during which a new resolution to continue sanctions relief for Iran had to be adopted to avoid the restrictions being reimposed. Last-ditch efforts to do so failed.
The US designations are the first to be imposed by Mr Trump's administration since snapback sanctions came into effect last week. Iran's already reeling economy is set to deteriorate further as inflationary pressures mount. Its currency has continued to lose value against the US dollar since sanctions were reimposed.
The Bloomberg Billionaire Index in full
1 Jeff Bezos $140 billion
2 Bill Gates $98.3 billion
3 Bernard Arnault $83.1 billion
4 Warren Buffett $83 billion
5 Amancio Ortega $67.9 billion
6 Mark Zuckerberg $67.3 billion
7 Larry Page $56.8 billion
8 Larry Ellison $56.1 billion
9 Sergey Brin $55.2 billion
10 Carlos Slim $55.2 billion
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
Ultra processed foods
- Carbonated drinks, sweet or savoury packaged snacks, confectionery, mass-produced packaged breads and buns
- margarines and spreads; cookies, biscuits, pastries, cakes, and cake mixes, breakfast cereals, cereal and energy bars;
- energy drinks, milk drinks, fruit yoghurts and fruit drinks, cocoa drinks, meat and chicken extracts and instant sauces
- infant formulas and follow-on milks, health and slimming products such as powdered or fortified meal and dish substitutes,
- many ready-to-heat products including pre-prepared pies and pasta and pizza dishes, poultry and fish nuggets and sticks, sausages, burgers, hot dogs, and other reconstituted meat products, powdered and packaged instant soups, noodles and desserts.
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
