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Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamanei makes a speech regarding Trump's withdrawal decision from Iran nuclear deal during a press conference in Tehran, Iran on May 09, 2018.

Iranian Leader's Press Office | Handout | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images

The United States imposed sanctions on nine people with ties to Iran Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, including his chief of staff, one of his sons and the head of Iran's judiciary, the U.S. Treasury Department said on Monday.

The United States also sanctioned Iran's Armed Forces General Staff, the department said in the statement, which came 40 years after Iran seized the U.S. embassy in Tehran, taking more than 50 Americans hostage.

"Today the Treasury Department is targeting the unelected officials who surround Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, and implement his destabilizing policies," U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement.

"These individuals are linked to a wide range of malign behaviors by the regime, including bombings of the U.S. Marine Barracks in Beirut in 1983 and the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association in 1994, as well as torture, extrajudicial killings, and repression of civilians," Mnuchin added.

Those targeted by the U.S. sanctions include Khamenei's chief of staff Mohammad Mohammadi Golpayegani as well as Vahid Haghanian, who the department said "has been referred to as the supreme leader's right hand."

Ebrahim Raisi, who Khamenei appointed in March 2019 to lead Iran's judiciary, and Mojtaba Khamenei, Ali Khamenei's second son, were also sanctioned, Treasury said.

U.S. sanctions block any U.S.-controlled property or interests held by those targeted and prohibit anyone or any entities in the United States from dealing with those sanctioned.

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US sanctions 9 people with ties to Iran's top leader

Nasser Karimi and Jon Gambrell, Associated Press Published 7:08 a.m. ET Nov. 4, 2019 | Updated 8:01 a.m. ET Nov. 4, 2019

Tehran, Iran Iran on Monday broke further away from its collapsing 2015 nuclear deal with world powers by announcing its doubling the number of advanced centrifuges it operates, calling the decision a direct result of President Donald Trumps withdrawal from the agreement.

The announcement which also included Iran saying it now has a prototype centrifuge that works 50 times faster than those allowed under the deal came as demonstrators across the country marked the 40th anniversary of the 1979 U.S. Embassy takeover that started a 444-day hostage crisis.

A demonstrator holds an anti-U.S. placard during an annual rally outside the former U.S. Embassy in Tehran, Iran, Monday, Nov. 4, 2019.(Photo: Vahid Salemi, AP)

By starting up these advanced centrifuges, Iran further cuts into the one year that experts estimate Tehran would need to have enough material for building a nuclear weapon if it chose to pursue one. Iran long has insisted its program is for peaceful purposes, though Western fears about its work led to the 2015 agreement that saw Tehran limit its enrichment of uranium in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions.

Tehran has gone from producing some 1 pound of low-enriched uranium a day to 11 pounds, said Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran.

Salehi dramatically pushed a button on a keyboard to start a chain of 30 IR-6 centrifuges at Irans Natanz nuclear facility, where he was being filmed, increasing the number of working centrifuges to 60.

With the grace of God, I start the gas injection, the U.S.-trained scientist said.

The nuclear deal limited Iran to using only 5,060 first-generation IR-1 centrifuges to enrich uranium by rapidly spinning uranium hexafluoride gas. Salehi also announced that scientists were working on a prototype he called the IR-9, which worked 50-times faster than the IR-1.

As of now, Iran is enriching uranium to 4.5%, in violation of the accords limit of 3.67%. Enriched uranium at the 3.67% level is enough for peaceful pursuits but is far below weapons-grade levels of 90%. At the 4.5% level, it is enough to help power Irans Bushehr reactor, the countrys only nuclear power plant.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani will announce further steps away from the accord sometime soon, government spokesman Ali Rabiei separately said Monday, suggesting Salehis comments could be followed by additional violations of the nuclear deal. An announcement had been expected this week.

Iran has threatened in the past to push enrichment back up to 20%. That would worry nuclear nonproliferation experts because 20% is a short technical step away from reaching weapons-grade levels of 90%. It also has said it could ban inspectors from the United Nations nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency.

The Vienna-based IAEA did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday on Irans announcement.

Iran broke through its stockpile and enrichment limitations to try to pressure Europe to offer it a new deal, more than a year since Trump unilaterally withdrew America from the accord. But so far, European nations have been unable to offer Iran a way to help it sell its oil abroad as it faces strict U.S. sanctions.

Meanwhile Monday, demonstrators gathered in front of the former U.S. Embassy in downtown Tehran as state television aired footage from other cities across the country making the anniversary.

Thanks to God, today the revolutions seedlings have evolved into a fruitful and huge tree that its shadow has covered the entire Middle East, said Gen. Abdolrahim Mousavi, the commander of the Iranian army.

However, this years commemoration of the embassy seizure comes as Irans regional allies in Iraq and Lebanon face widespread protests. The Iranian Consulate in Karbala, Iraq, a holy city for Shiites, saw a mob attack it overnight. Three protesters were killed during the attack and 19 were wounded, along with seven policemen, Iraqi officials said.

Trump retweeted posts by Saudi-linked media showing the chaos outside the consulate. The violence comes after the hard-line Keyhan newspaper in Iran reiterated a call for demonstrators to seize U.S. and Saudi diplomatic posts in Iraq in response to the unrest.

The collapse of the nuclear deal coincided with a tense summer of mysterious attacks on oil tankers and Saudi oil facilities that the U.S. blamed on Iran. Tehran denied the allegation, though it did seize oil tankers and shoot down a U.S. military surveillance drone.

The U.S. has increased its military presence across the Mideast, including basing troops in Saudi Arabia for the first time since the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks. Both Saudi Arabia and the neighboring United Arab Emirates are believed to be talking to Tehran through back channels to ease tensions.

Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

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Iran spins more centrifuges on U.S. Embassy crisis anniversary

The following individuals have been added to OFAC's SDN List:

BAGHERI, Mohammad (a.k.a. BAGHERI AFSHORDI, Mohammad; a.k.a. BAGHERI, Mohammed; a.k.a. BAQERI, Mohammad Hossein), Iran; DOB 1960; POB Tehran, Iran; nationality Iran; Additional Sanctions Information - Subject to Secondary Sanctions; Gender Male (individual) [IRAN-EO13876].

DEHGHAN, Hossein (a.k.a. DEHGHAN POUDEH, Hossein), Iran; DOB 1957; POB Poudeh, Isfahan, Iran; nationality Iran; Additional Sanctions Information - Subject to Secondary Sanctions; Gender Male (individual) [IRAN-EO13876].

GOLPAYEGANI, Mohammad Mohammadi, Iran; DOB 1943; POB Golpayegan, Iran; Additional Sanctions Information - Subject to Secondary Sanctions; Gender Male (individual) [IRAN-EO13876].

HADDAD-ADEL, Gholamali (a.k.a. HADDAD ADEL, Gholamali; a.k.a. HADDAD ADEL, Gholam-Ali; a.k.a. HADDADADEL, Gholam-Ali), Iran; DOB 1945; POB Tehran, Iran; nationality Iran; Additional Sanctions Information - Subject to Secondary Sanctions; Gender Male (individual) [IRAN-EO13876].

HAGHANIAN, Vahid, Iran; DOB 1961; alt. DOB 1962; POB Iran; nationality Iran; Additional Sanctions Information - Subject to Secondary Sanctions; Gender Male (individual) [IRAN-EO13876].

KHAMENEI, Mojtaba (a.k.a. KHAMENEI, Sayyed Mojtaba Hosseini), Iran; DOB 1969; POB Mashhad, Iran; nationality Iran; Additional Sanctions Information - Subject to Secondary Sanctions; Gender Male (individual) [IRAN-EO13876].

RAISI, Ebrahim (a.k.a. RA'EESI, Sayyid Ibrahim; a.k.a. RAISOL-SADATI, Seyyid Ebrahim; a.k.a. RAIS-O-SADAT, Sayyid Ebrahim), Iran; DOB 14 Dec 1960; alt. DOB Nov 1960; alt. DOB Dec 1960; POB Masshad, Iran; nationality Iran; Additional Sanctions Information - Subject to Secondary Sanctions; Gender Male (individual) [IRAN-EO13876].

RASHID, Gholam Ali (a.k.a. RASHID, Gholamali), Iran; DOB 1953; alt. DOB 1954; POB Dezful, Iran; nationality Iran; Additional Sanctions Information - Subject to Secondary Sanctions; Gender Male (individual) [IRAN-EO13876].

VELAYATI, Ali Akbar, Iran; DOB 25 Jun 1945; POB Shemiran, Tehran, Iran; Additional Sanctions Information - Subject to Secondary Sanctions; Gender Male (individual) [IRAN-EO13876].

The following entity has been added to OFAC's SDN List:

ARMED FORCES GENERAL STAFF (a.k.a. GENERAL STAFF OF IRANIAN ARMED FORCES; a.k.a. "AFGS"), Iran; Additional Sanctions Information - Subject to Secondary Sanctions [IRAN-EO13876].

The following deletions have been made to OFAC's SDN List:

MONSOON NAVIGATION CORPORATION, Trust Company Complex, Ajeltake Road, Ajeltake Island, Majuro MH96960, Marshall Islands; Identification Number IMO 5403673 [VENEZUELA-EO13850].

OCEAN ELEGANCE Crude Oil Tanker Panama flag; Vessel Registration Identification IMO 9038749 (vessel) [VENEZUELA-EO13850] (Linked To: MONSOON NAVIGATION CORPORATION).

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Iran-related Designations ; Venezuela-related Designations ...

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Posted: Nov 04, 2019 10:45 AM

The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not represent the views of Townhall.com.

Monday marks the 40thanniversary of the Iran hostage crisis. It also marks 40 consecutive years of hostage-taking and terrorism by the Islamic Republic of Irans agents and allies. For four decades, Western powers have regrettably but repeatedly failed to address the looming Iran threat or the belligerent regimes underlying ideology.

At present, at least 17 dual nationals are held captive by Iranian authorities, often on the flimsiest of pretenses. Although most of them have been charged with espionage or similar national security crimes, no justification has been offered for those charges other than the fact that their targets have close affiliations with the US or Europe.

At least four American citizens are currently serving 10-year sentences, although Iranian authorities have hinted that they might be released earlier if the US government is willing to pay a ransom for their release. In October, Irans foreign ministry emphasized this point by providing the White House with a list of Iranian nationals who have been jailed in the U.S. for sanctions violations and other crimes, along with the message that they must be freed.

There are some who would argue that Washington should do whatever is necessary to secure the freedom of falsely imprisoned U.S. citizens. And it is fair to acknowledge that there might be more at stake for those Americans than for the Iranians whom Tehran has identified.

Several of these detainees advocates spoke to the media after Iran issued its demand for the release of its own citizens. Some expressly condemned the regimes hypocrisy and emphasized all they had learned about the conduct of Iranian authorities. Others urged more concerted Western actions to end the false imprisonment of American citizens.

But as much collective suffering as has been endured by these Americans and other Western nationals over the years, it pales in comparison to the horrors the Iranian people have experienced at the hands of their own rulers. Just as Tehran has taken aim at Western nationals, the plight of Irans own population has worsened too. Amidst Iranian authorities brutal suppression of pro-democracy protests in early 2018 a nationwide uprising that featured citizens calling for a comprehensive change of government the number of Iranian political prisoners swelled by the thousands.

Many of these detainees are facing lengthy prison sentences. But the regimes threat does not stop there. Mass arrests are a reminder of the Islamic Republics past crimes against humanity, particularly the massacre of 30,000 political prisoners in the summer of 1988. That incident stemmed from a fatwa by Ayatollah Khomeini which declared all opponents of the theocratic system to be at war with God himself, and thus subject to summary execution.

The main target of that clerical edict was the highly capable resistance organization known as the Peoples Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) and this group made up the overwhelming majority of the massacres victims. The movement endured in spite of the fierce persecution and even thrived in the ensuing decades. Last year, it was credited with leading the countrywide anti-regime protests and giving voice to the peoples progressive aspirations. But Khomeinis fatwa remains in force, and political prisoners have been executed for actual or perceived support of the MEK.

Although Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei acknowledged the MEKs role in 2018, he also blamed the protests on a triangle of enemies in Washington, Tel Aviv, and Riyadh. This reflects a longstanding strategy of conflating foreign and domestic opposition to the clerical regime, in hopes of directing supporters to reject both trends as one. The MEK traces this strategy all the way back to the hostage crisis at the US embassy when the new regime sought to exploit anti-Western sentiment by compelling hardliners to line up behind the ayatollahs, thereby excluding alternative visions for Irans future.

The Iranian regimes persistent, simultaneous aggression toward both foreign influence and domestic dissent raises questions about the wisdom of using prisoner swaps and other concessions to secure the freedom of Western nationals.

These tactics were used, for instance, in 2016 around the time that the Iran nuclear deal was implemented. Four Americans were released in January of that year, but only in exchange for the U.S. settling an old debt to the previous Iranian government, as well as releasing or dropping charges against 21 Iranian nationals. This only served to reinforce the impression that hostage-taking is a potentially lucrative endeavor. It is therefore no surprise that all four of the American hostages were promptly replaced by others.

It is safe to assume that this pattern will repeat for as long as the U.S. and its allies take a short-term approach to addressing Iranian hostage-taking. The only way this phenomenons recurrence can be prevented over the long term is if Tehrans behavior or the regime itself changes completely. Last years public protests underscore the fact that this outcome is within reach. But for the Iranian people to grasp it, they must recognize support from foreign governments that are interested in more substantial goals than the begrudging release of Irans hostages du jour.

Domestic unrest demonstrates that there is no need for Western powers to actively pursue regime change. But they most definitely should promote an alternative vision for Irans future the very same vision that Tehran sought to suppress in 1979 with the false imprisonment of 52 Americans and again in 1988 by executing 30,000 of Irans own citizens.

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Anniversary of Hostage Crisis Highlights Absence of Change in ...

Maximum pressure has been the crux of Trump administration policy towards the Iranian regime.

Withdrawing from the disastrous nuclear deal, reinstating tough sanctions, targeting top leaders of the regime, and forging the closest personal relationship ever between an American President and Israeli Prime Minister have been hallmarks of the maximum pressure policy.

Easing up on those sanctions, extending waivers that allow continuation of nuclear work, and failing to respond promptly and harshly to escalating Iranian regime aggression sends entirely the wrong message to friend and foe alike. Precisely because of that maximum pressure to date, Tehran is facing a collapsing economy, nation-wide popular uprising, open dtente among Arab Gulf states and Israel, and massive street protests in Iraq and Lebanon, two of the regimes key satraps.

Now is not the time to go wobbly, with talk about new negotiations or changing the behavior of the Iranian regime. Now is the time to press our advantage in every way possible to bring about the collapse of that aggressive, oppressive, jihadist regime once and for all.

While maximum pressure has caused deep economic hardship (that has fallen mainly on the Iranian people, not the regime), Tehrans response has not been reconsideration of its course of action, but quite the opposite: belligerence and increasing willingness to respond to diplomatic and economic pressure with kinetic violence.

Attacks against commercial shipping in the Persian Gulf area, seizure of oil tankers and crews, and bringing down a U.S. drone escalated to cruise missile attacks by proxy militias in Iraq and Yemen, and finally to a direct act of war in September 2019 with the launch of a drone and cruise missile attack against Saudi oil facilities (and the global oil economy) from Iranian territory. Incredibly, all have gone completely without meaningful retaliation. This sends a perception of weakness to this Iranian regime: the West and even the tough Trump administration are eager to talk, not fight.

Meanwhile, as I wrote in these pages in August 2019, Tehran continues its calculated violations of the 2015 JCPOA. From increased amounts and levels of uranium enrichment to re-starting activities at the Arak heavy water nuclear reactor and revelations by Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu about weaponization work at Abadeh, it is clear the Iranian regime never did negotiate in good faith and never will. Tehrans incessant attempts to get precision-guidance missile technology into the hands of Shiite terror proxies Hizballah in Lebanon, Houthis in Yemen, Hashd-e Shaabi in Iraq have been well-documented. In response, Israel acts forcefully and rapidly. The Israeli Defense Forces carry out regular air strikes against such weapons transfers and encroachment by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Qods Force, and Hizballah in Lebanon, the Golan Heights, and Iraq.

Even in the face of Israels stiff defense posture, Iran continues efforts to deploy precision-guided rockets and missiles throughout the Middle East including in Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen, as Israeli PM Netanyahu warned visiting U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin in Jerusalem in late October 2019.

Whether aimed at Israel or Saudi Arabia, Irans intent is clear: to surround both with a menacing ring of proxy forces capable of striking anywhere in the region while maintaining some degree of plausible deniability. The sub-text of Netanyahus warning is also an alarming one: neither Israel nor the U.S. currently has an adequate defense against Irans cruise missile and drone capabilities a reality that became glaringly obvious with the September 2019 Iranian attack against Saudi Arabia.

The IDF is on high alert and in late October 2019, the U.S. military reportedly began to relocate sensitive elements (including the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group) out of range of those capabilities. Despite denials, it is reported that U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) is considering moving some air force and intelligence command units out of the Al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar (an Iranian partner) to Saudi Arabia. A little-noticed 24-hour exercise on September 28, 2019, practiced a rapid transfer of command and control from Al-Udeid to Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina.

The Saudis are as alarmed as either Israel or the U.S.

Speaking at the London-based Chatham House think tank on October 21, 2019, Saudi Arabias Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel al-Jubeir asserted that Iran, since the Iranian revolution, has been on a rampage. He also admitted what no U.S. administration has yet been willing to say, namely that after the 9/11 attacks and the attack against Afghanistan, the virtual board of directors of al-Qaeda, including Osama bin Ladens son, moved to Tehran and Iran gave them shelter.

Iran is not modifying its behavior, backing down, or giving up. The editor of the regimes Kayhan mouthpiece, Hossein Shariatmadari, has called for the capture of the U.S. and Saudi Embassies in Baghdad. On October 30, 2019, Qods Force commander Qassem Suleimani flew into Baghdad and reportedly took control of a meeting on security from Iraqi PM Adel Abdul-Mahdi, saying We in Iran know how to deal with protests. This happened in Iran and we got it under control.

Bottom line: in this neighborhood, perceptions matter. Its either Strong Horse or Weak Horse. An impression of weakness given, intentionally or not, will be ten times harder to reverse than maintaining credibility and deterrence in the first place.

Please dont go wobbly now, Mr. President.

Clare M. Lopez is VP for Research and Analysis at the Center for Security Policy. Previously a Senior Fellow at the London Center for Policy Research and a member of Board of Advisors for Canadian Mackenzie Institute, she was named to Senator Ted Cruzs presidential campaign national security advisory team in 2016. Lopez served with Citizens Commission on Benghazi and now its successor, Citizens Commission on National Security. Formerly VP of Intelligence Summit, she was a career operations officer with Central Intelligence Agency, professor at Centre for Counterintelligence and Security Studies and Executive Director of the Iran Policy Committee from 2005-2006. Lopez received a B.A. in Communications and French from Notre Dame College of Ohio and an M.A. in International Relations from the Maxwell School of Syracuse University. She completed Marine Corps Officer Candidate School (OCS) in Quantico, VA, before declining a military commission to join the CIA. To read more of her reports Click Here Now.

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