US imposes sanctions linked to Iran’s ballistic missile program

A missile is launched during an Iranian army exercise in central Iran, Thursday, March 14, 2013. Iranian media say the military has test-fired several short-range missiles, including the type Palestinian militant Hamas group used to attack Tel Aviv last November. Thursday’s report by the semi-official Fars news agency says the missiles were tested during an army exercise in central Iran. It says the missiles fired were Nazeat-10 and Fajr-5. Iran regularly holds maneuver to test and promote its military power. AP

WASHINGTON, United States — The United States on Sunday announced new sanctions linked to Iran’s ballistic missile program, just a day after sanctions targeting its nuclear program were lifted.

In remarks shortly before the US announcement, Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani of Iran said that any new American sanctions would be “met by an appropriate response.”

The US Treasury Department said in a statement that it had added five Iranian nationals and a network of companies based in the United Arab Emirates and China to an American blacklist.

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It said the network had “obfuscated the end user of sensitive goods for missile proliferation by using front companies in third countries to deceive foreign suppliers” and that the five individuals had “worked to procure ballistic missile components for Iran.”

Adam J. Szubin, acting under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said that “Iran’s ballistic missile program poses a significant threat to regional and global security, and it will continue to be subject to international sanctions.”

Rouhani, speaking at a news conference in Tehran some 90 minutes before the new US measures were announced, was asked what would happen if the United States imposed new sanctions or violated terms of the nuclear agreement.

“Any action will be met by a reaction,” he said.

“If the Americans impose any measure they will receive an appropriate response.”