The US Treasury on Tuesday announced fresh sanctions on Iran, targeting Bank Mellat and Mehr Eqtesad Bank and some other Iranian banks and financial institutions.

Iran Press / Iran news: The United States is also imposing sanctions on Iran Tractor Manufacturing Company, Esfehan’s Mobarakeh Steel Company, and other companies linked to investment, commodities and engineering, according to an announcement on the US Treasury's website.

The Treasury described the Iranian companies as a network providing support to the Basij Resistance Force. The Treasury Department also cited the Basij ties to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

The US is seeking to choke off Iran’s economy with expansive sanctions against the country’s oil industry that take effect in November.

Trump withdrew from the seven-nation Iran nuclear deal in May, dismissing objections from the other countries in the accord.

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The Trump administration hopes re-imposing sanctions on the Islamic Republic will force its leaders back to the negotiating table to agree on a new, broader pact that would constrain not only its nuclear program but also Iran's activities in the Middle East and its development of ballistic missiles.

Besides sanctions, Trump administration is pursuing regime change in Iran. Referring to riots in some cities in Iran in early 2018, Pompeo claimed that Iranians are not happy and US want them to have a strong voice in who their leadership will be.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in August, talked about a "maximum pressure campaign" targeting Iran that will support protests in Iran.

Pompeo along with US national security adviser, John Bolton has been a vocal critic of the Iran and the internationally negotiated Iran nuclear deal of 2015 and advocated immediate regime change. 

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