The United States on Friday imposed sanctions on Iranian Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni and a businessman it said helped launder money for Tehran, as President Donald Trump's administration ramps up pressure on the Islamic Republic, Reuters reported.
The Department of the Treasury, announcing the move, said Momeni was responsible for a brutal security crackdown in Iran this month as he oversees law enforcement forces it said were responsible for the deaths of thousands of peaceful protesters.
The financial sanctions on Friday also targeted five other Iranian security officials involved in "violently repressing the Iranian people", the Treasury said in a statement.
Sanctions were also issued against investor Babak Zanjani and two digital asset exchanges registered in Britain that the Treasury said had processed funds linked to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
"Like rats on a sinking ship, the regime is frantically wiring funds stolen from Iranian families to banks and financial institutions around the world. Rest assured, Treasury will act," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in the statement.
Trump has in recent weeks issued threats to intervene in Iran over the bloody suppression of the protests and has sent warships to the Middle East.
On Friday, he hinted that he had given Iran an ultimatum to make a deal with the US.
Asked whether he is giving Iran a deadline to make a deal before potentially taking military action against them, Trump replied, "Only they know for sure."
To the question of whether he has communicated this to them directly, the President said, "Yeah, I have."
Trump also said, “We’ll see how it all works out, it’s a rough situation… a lot of people are being killed. I can say this, Iran wants to make a deal."
He once again noted the increased US military presence in the region, saying, “We have a tremendously powerful fleet there. We have the most powerful ships in the world."
Trump’s latest comments come a day after he revealed he has spoken with the Islamic Republic and expressed hope he does not have to use military action against the country.
On Friday, hours before Trump’s latest comments, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that Iran is prepared to resume nuclear negotiations with the US, but warned that talks cannot proceed while Washington continues to threaten military action.
Araghchi stressed that Iran will not negotiate over its ballistic missile program and said the country is prepared for either outcome. "Iran is ready for both scenarios - war or diplomacy," he said.
(Arutz Sheva-Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)