Jan. 8 (UPI) — Iran on Saturday added to its list of sanctions placed against dozens of former and current U.S. officials and military leaders in retaliation for the assassination of Gen. Qassem Soleimani.
The Iran Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the 51 officials, mostly from the Pentagon and other military installations, had been added to the list for “violations of human rights and adventurist and terrorist actions.”
The country said that U.S. officials played a role “in the terrorist act of the United States against martyr General Ghasem Soleimani and his companions, in glorification of terrorism and in violating the fundamental human rights.”
The list, shared by Iranian state media, includes Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, former White House national security adviser Robert O’Brien and former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley.
Iran previously placed sanctions on former President Donald Trump, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and other top advisors in the Trump administration.
The move by Iran, viewed mostly as symbolic, comes after the second anniversary of the death of Soleimani — who was killed on Jan. 3, 2020 during a targeted American drone strike at Baghdad International Airport in Iraq on Trump’s orders. The Trump administration also withdrew from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and imposed sweeping sanctions on Iranian officials and companies.
Iran’s latest sanctions also come as Iran holds talks with five other countries in Vienna in the hopes of lifting sanctions the U.S. had placed on the country.
Earlier this week, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian lambasted the “cowardly” assassination of Soleimani as his office called for justice against the United States.
“His name shines brighter than ever as eternal #Hero inspiring generations to come. Iran won’t rest until culprits are brought to justice,” a spokesman for the foreign minister tweeted. “And his mission to end nefarious US presence continues as our region’s more awake than ever.”
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