January 22, 2021
In a dramatic but purely symbolic act, the Islamic Republic sanctioned President Trump and nine other US officials or former officials on the Trump Administration’s last full day in office, eliminating any chance for Trump to retaliate.
Tehran’s move provides for the seizure of any assets in Iran of the sanctioned individuals. But American officials are unlikely to have any assets in Iran, so the action is unlikely to have any impact whatsoever.
The Trump Administration has rained sanctions down on hundreds of Iranian officials, companies and government agencies. The penalty there, too, is seizure of assets. And those sanctions are unknown to have found any assets to seize.
The 10 Americans sanctioned by Iran were Trump; Secretary of State Mike Pompeo; ex-Defense Secretary Mark Esper; Acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller; Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin; Central Intelligence Agency Director Gina Haspel; former National Security Adviser John Bolton; former US Iran envoy Brian Hook; Elliott Abrams, Hook’s successor; and Treasury Department sanctions official Andrea Gacki, whose is the head of the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the agency overseeing US sanctions.
The officials were blacklisted “for their role in terrorist and anti-human rights activities against Iran and its citizens,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said.
He also cited those sanctioned for roles in the assassinations of Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleymani and nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh.